Christmas Revelations
by myhummelberryheart
Summary: Kurt and Rachel fly home for Christmas to tell their parents about their secret(s). They get more than they bargained for. Hummelberry relationship. Also featuring: Brittania, Tike, Samcedes, Pizes. (COMPLETE, but more to come.)
1. Chapter 1

It was a few days before Christmas, and Kurt and Rachel were standing in line for security at the airport to fly home to Lima, Ohio. They had a big secret to tell their families. Rachel laid her head on Kurt's shoulder.

"What do you think they're all going to say?"

"I'm predicting fainting."

Rachel laughed, covering her mouth. She nudged Kurt in the ribs.

"I think my Dads will approve. They have always loved you."

"I'm not so sure they're going to love this new me. Sure they loved me back when I was just your best friend. Now…"

"We'll see," said Rachel mysteriously. She yawned, trying to hide it behind her hand.

"I can't believe we're at the airport at three in the morning Kurt. And there are people."

"Best time to fly," he said sarcastically. "We'll get home just in time for breakfast. I can smell Carole cooking Finn's fifteen pieces of bacon now."

Rachel wrinkled her nose at the thought. Both bacon and Finn.

"How are we going to tell him?"

"I bought body armor."

"…You're kidding right?"

"Finn's been in even more training since boot camp. I'm not taking chances."

"So that's why your luggage was so heavy. Kurt, we're only going to be there for a week."

"Do you know how many outfits I went through just to find something suitable to wear when we tell your Dads? To tell my family? Finn? If I'm going to die, I want to be dressed well."

"Kurt…"

"Yes, I know I'm over reacting."

Rachel smirked. "Too much time in acting class."

"Or having a Rachel Berry trademark drama attack."

"Hey, wait a minute...!"

Kurt held her chin with his thumb and kissed her softly. Her lips tasted like lip gloss and cream cheese from their quickly grabbed bagels and coffee. They were soft, warm to his own. Rachel moaned into the kiss before pulling away.

"Kurt, there are people staring."

He sighed and rested his hands on Rachel's shoulders.

"Let them stare. Not like they don't do it at any other time."

Rachel silently agreed. "I can't wait to do that in Times Square on New Year's Eve." She took Kurt's hand.

"You'd better do it quickly," said Kurt with a faint smile. "Brittany's already threatening to steal you from me."

"Kissing Brittany… Although now I'm more intrigued that Santana might kiss you."

"… Delete that thought right now Rachel. I am not kissing Santana Lopez."

"What about that cute boy I met in the bathroom my freshman year?"

"The one who came out of the shower in just a towel? Brody?"

"Yes."

Kurt considered this. "Now him, that would be a lovely kiss."

Rachel laughed.

"I'm telling him that."

"Jealous?"

"A little," she admitted. "But it is nice to be able to boy watch together."

"Hmm," Kurt agreed. "The perks of being bisexual I suppose."

"Maybe I should start looking at girls."

"… Don't let Brittany hear you say that. I think she's wanted to tap that for years."

Rachel's eyes went wide and she tried to stutter out a reply. Kurt scoffed. "You are so naive sometimes. You're really pretty Rachel. Of course people would want to sleep with you. Because damn, that ass? Even my boss was checking you out, and she's a married woman of twelve years and two kids."

"… They were looking at my ass at _Vogue_?"

Kurt kissed the top of Rachel's head as she fathomed that thought.

"Maybe it's fate," chuckled the girl finally. "Because the boys in my classes all want your phone number when you come to pick me up for dinner. Something about a living Adonis."

It was Kurt's turn to stutter. Rachel smirked.

"You are quite the handsome Princess." She kissed his cheek. Kurt glared at the brown haired girl.

"Alright, stop it Puckerman."

Rachel giggled. "We are the weirdest couple aren't we?"

The line finally moved, and they were able to breeze through security, holding hands as they boarded the plane, not saying anything. Kurt smiled at Rachel as they finally got to sit down. He leaned to his right and laid his head on her shoulder.

"We are," he admitted. "Feels right though. You are the other half of me."

It had taken two years for them to realize that. Kurt worked at Vogue's website sure, but his heart lie in the acting classes at Tisch. He was always so tired, but loving every minute of his life. Rachel herself had caught a big break and was recording voice-overs for commercials on TV and radio. It was good work that helped pay the rent while they both studied.

It had been after a particularly long and tedious day that ended with Kurt not getting home till two a.m. that they had sought comfort from one another, collapsed on the couch. In the quietness where not even their neighbors' television blaring loudly could move them, they found each other.

"I admit, I am not looking forward to this. Can we just skip it?"

"Kurt."

"One step at a time, I know. I'm taking your self-help books away from you."

Rachel was glad to see that they were not getting a third in their row. Now they both could stretch out once the seat belt sign was off. She kissed Kurt's hand and smiled.

"But I'm happy it's you."

Kurt sighed. "Whatever am I going to do with you?"

She giggled. "I can think of a few things."

Kurt looked scandalized. "On the plane?"

"Or you can just send me to Broadway."

Kurt gave her a half-smile. "We can both go… after Christmas."

"After Christmas," she agreed.


	2. Chapter 2

Their flight home had landed safely and both Kurt and Rachel were already exhausted from the red-eye as they looked for their families. Rachel's dads found her first as she ran into their arms. Leroy had picked her up and spun her around and Rachel squealed as she was lifted off her feet. What Kurt had not expected was Hiram coming over and giving him a big hug.

"Thanks for taking care of our little angel."

"Daddy, I can look after myself by now," laughed Rachel as Leroy sat her back down. She went back to Kurt's side and pulled on his arm, taking his hand in hers.

"He's mine now Daddy. I told you."

Kurt looked confused at Rachel. _Had she told her fathers?_

Leroy chuckled and came to stand next to Hiram. "Hers huh?"

Kurt gulped. This was going to be bad. He wrapped his arms around Rachel and prepared for the worst. At least he'd make a good corpse.

"Well, I suppose it could be worse."

"Hiram."

"Leroy, technically he is one of us. Who better to trust than one of our own?"

Leroy looked at Kurt skeptically. "That's the problem. We'll have to have a talk later about this Kurt."

Kurt nodded and held onto Rachel for dear life. She poked his shoulder and he saw Burt approaching with an amused smile on his face.

"Hi Dad."

"Leroy, Hiram," nodded Burt in greeting to the two men. "Kurt, is there some reason you're holding onto Rachel like she's going to break?"

Rachel laughed. "He thinks he's going to break Mr. Hummel."

"Rough plane ride?"

"The landing," muttered Kurt. He let of Rachel and hugged his dad.

"I'm glad to see you too son," laughed Burt as he wrapped his arms around Kurt's shoulders. He looked over to the brunette.

"Thanks for taking care of my kid Rachel."

Rachel smiled. "He's still in one piece, mostly. I think his work may have gotten the best of him though."

"Ugh, let's not talk about the lifestyles of the Vogue-amous."

"Whatever that is," said Burt. "It can wait. Finn's got some family news."

"Oh?" said Kurt. "This should be interesting. He hasn't said anything."

"He's been waiting impatiently to tell you. He hasn't even touched his bacon this morning."

Rachel laughed out loud and Kurt snorted. Burt looked confused at Kurt.

"Private joke," said Kurt. "Did Carole make her lemon blueberry muffins?"

"Still warm in the oven for you."

Kurt smiled and steered his Dad away quickly, leaving Rachel along with her Dads near baggage claim. He mouthed "text me" to her and disappeared into the holiday crowd.

"So Kurt huh?"

Rachel sighed and smiled at the direction Kurt and Burt had just taken.

"I know it's weird, but we mold together beautifully. I don't even have to say anything and he knows what I'm thinking."

"You two are very similar," commented Hiram. "But Kurt self-identified as gay correct?"

"In high school, yes," said Rachel. "But things...change."

"So are you his experiment?"

Rachel laughed. "No, that was Brittany. When we were in the 10th grade."

"Oh," said Hiram, sharing a look with Leroy.

"Daddy, Kurt isn't hiding behind me or anything," said Rachel as she picked up her luggage. "He still looks at boys and identifies with the gay lifestyle. But we love and care for each other like nobody else I know, besides you and Dad. Finn and I... we didn't fit like that. I love Kurt."

"We just worry sweetie," said Leroy. "It's just... convenient."

"We know," said Rachel, adjusting her skirt. "We prepared for that. We figure there's going to be a lot of yelling and interesting moments with our friends."

"Maybe not so much for you," commented Hiram. "But Kurt is definitely not going to be hearing the end of it if I remember everything that went on during high school."

"I don't plan on letting them," said Rachel fiercely. " I've made Kurt mine, and nobody's taking him away."

"Now that's our little pit bull," chuckled Leroy. Hiram pulled Rachel into a hug.

"Let's get you home. We want to hear all about NYADA."

* * *

When Kurt got home, he was surprised to see Finn waiting outside. At first, he was worried that somehow Finn had gotten advance news, but Finn's face lit up when he saw Kurt. Nope, he definitely did not know about Rachel.

"Hey!" said Finn, pulling Kurt into a hug. "Come on, I've got someone I want you to meet."

"Meet?"

Kurt felt himself being dragged by the hand inside. Sitting with Carole holding a cup of coffee was a strawberry blonde haired young woman Kurt didn't recognize.

"Kurt, this is Juliet. Juliet, this is my stepbrother Kurt."

"Hi," waved the girl.

"Hello," said Kurt, curious. He looked to Finn. He knew Finn had been dating, but bringing a girl home already?

"Juliet is my fiancee Kurt."

"Oh!" said Kurt, surprised. "_Wow_. Congratulations."

"Juliet works in the offices at Fort Benning. She helped me get paperwork together for well, for my dad."

"He's still applying for an dishonorable discharge overturn," explained Juliet. "And thank you. Finn always talks highly of you. Said you're either going to be a big Broadway star or a famous fashion designer. He's never sure which."

"Maybe both," smiled Kurt. "I haven't decided."

"Overachiever," chuckled Burt. "But then, he always has been."

"Duality of my nature," sighed Kurt. He clamped a hand over his mouth. Carole gave him a look, but said nothing. She gave him a hug.

"Good to have you both home for once."

"Glad to be home," said Kurt. "So what are the Christmas plans this year?"

"Cake, cookies, the usual," said Carole. "Oh and that rum souffle. You're helping me make it again this year."

Kurt smiled and sat down in the armchair. "Anytime. I love that recipe."

"You cook?" asked Juliet, perking up. "That's really cool."

"Bake, iron, do laundry, clean..." scoffed Finn.

"Just because I take care of myself, there's nothing wrong with that," sniffed Kurt. He took out his phone when he heard it go off. Rachel had texted him letting him know they had made it home safely.

"You sure you're okay?" said Burt from his easy chair. "You were holding onto Rachel like your life depended on it Kurt."

_My life did depend on it_ thought Kurt. He shook his head. "I'm fine," he said, smiling. "It was just some turbulence."

"Hey, have you talked to Blaine lately?" said Finn. "He mentioned he hadn't spoken to you in a while."

Kurt bit his lip. Another one of his stupid oversights. "No I haven't. I've been really busy lately with work and things." He wondered if he had a big sign that said: _I've been sleeping in the same bed as your ex-fiancee_ going right across his forehead right now. He hoped not.

"Oh okay," shrugged Finn. "I miss everyone, you know? I haven't gotten to talk to anyone much because of work and everything."

"Yeah," said Kurt. "We only get to see Brittany and Santana sparingly. But it is nice when we do get together."

"I miss Puck a lot," said Finn.

"I miss Mercedes," admitted Kurt. "And Tina."

"We all should get together this year," said Finn. "I think everyone is home for Christmas."

"Oh really?" said Kurt. "That's great." He however was going to avoid the members of the New Directions as much as possible.

"Hey, aren't you and Rachel doing that Christmas revue thing at the school for Mr. Schuester?"

Kurt groaned. He had almost forgotten.

"Yes, we are. Thursday evening."

"We can invite everyone over after that," said Finn. "Mom, would you mind? I'd love for Juliet to meet my high school friends."

"I don't see why not sweetie. You're buying the snacks though."

"Deal," grinned Finn. "New Directions party!"

Kurt was pretty sure his mental self was beating his head against the wall. He fingered his collar nervously.

"Sounds like fun," he said softly. "Why don't you go call and get the word spread?"

"Great idea," said Finn. He grinned all puppy like and pulled out his cell. Kurt picked up his bags and smiled at Juliet.

"You can come with me Juliet while Finn's busy," said Kurt. "You can tell me all about yourself while I go put away my things."

"Okay," said Juliet with a smile as she followed Kurt to his room.

"I was born and raised in Alabama, but moved to Georgia after school…"

* * *

Later that evening, Kurt was sitting on the edge of Rachel's bed. They were both having some of the mulled wine that Leroy was testing for their annual Christmas party.

"It's delicious," said the brown haired boy, setting down his glass. Rachel nodded in agreement.

"So fiancee huh?"

"She has a gorgeous accent," said Kurt, putting a hand over his heart. "Oh, to have a Southern gentleman."

"Oh really? Better than a Midwestern girl?"

Kurt laughed. "No of course not." He kissed her hand. "Nothing will ever be better than you, my dear."

"I was wondering if I was going to have to start wearing pants and a bowl cut."

"Don't even go there."

Rachel giggled and sat down her wine glass next to Kurt's.

"About this party..."

Kurt's face soured. "I can't believe him sometimes."

"Well, it is a good opportunity..."

"I know," he sighed. "I'm just not looking forward to this, you know?"

"Who are you worried the most about?"

Kurt bit his lip. "Finn. Mercedes." He sighed and took a breath. "Blaine."

"That is the bad thing about exes."

Kurt pulled his knees to his chest. "How do I—"

"Tell him the truth."

"The last time we talked about you and sexuality in the same sentence, we weren't exactly nice about it."

"... Let me guess."

Kurt sighed and Rachel squeezed his hand.

"Funny how that stuff works out isn't it?"

"Who knew _I'd_ end up with you? Oh god, if I knew back then…"

"Your younger self would have thrown up."

"More than likely, yes. Right before passing out in horror."

Rachel pulled Kurt into her arms. He huffed at the indignity and let Rachel run her fingers through his hair.

"My Dads think this is all too convenient."

"Well, we did become best friends over the summer before our senior year, spent more time together than probably was healthy, practically did everything in tandem, tried to get into NYADA together, moved in with each other in New York..."

"We did tend to flow together a lot didn't we?"

Kurt laughed and took Rachel's hand, playing with her fingers. "We're so fluid."

"You're going to Tisch, I'm in NYADA. You will probably be on Broadway before me..."

"Highly unlikely," said Kurt as he settled into her lap and looking up. "I still do love fashion, and they are upping my hours."

"It still amazes me that you sleep."

"Usually it's on your shoulder." He yawned. "I could sleep right now."

"Probably not the best idea," admitted Rachel. "My dads might get the wrong idea if you are face down in my lap."

Kurt smirked. "If only they knew that—"

"One step at a time remember?"

Kurt made a noise into Rachel's skirt. He sat up and looked at her.

"So what are we doing for the revue show again?"

"Mr. Schue sent us, well me, the set list. I'll print it out for you."

"I wonder why he wanted us."

"We're now 'trained,'" Rachel said with a smirk. "The school is hosting some guests, and he wants us to help lead the Glee club."

"Right," said Kurt, rolling his eyes with a small smile. "Guess we'd better get to work then."


	3. Chapter 3

Rachel giggled while she played in the hallways of McKinley.

"It's been forever since I've been here!"

Kurt was laughing at her from his perch against the lockers. Rachel's long dark hair was trailing behind her as she ran. She skidded to a stop in front of the dark choir room.

"There's no one here."

"Nope. I think we're early," said Kurt. He checked his phone.

"Definitely early."

Rachel came back down the hall and tugged on his dress shirt. She leaned in for a kiss and Kurt pulled her closer. She got on her tiptoes and deepened it. They broke apart at the sound of a cough behind them.

"Porcelain, sweet sweet Porcelain. Do you often break into the high school and have make out sessions after school hours? Especially with... why hello Ms. Berry."

Rachel felt Kurt flinch against her. She wasn't surprised. Sue had that effect on full grown adults.

"Afternoon Coach Sylvester," said Rachel, turning around and smiling brightly. "And no, we didn't break in. Kurt and I are waiting on Mr. Schuester. We're supposed to be working on the musical revue with the Glee club this afternoon."

"So that little rag tag lame club of his has gotten so pathetic that he has to bring in outside talent?"

"I think we're an object lesson, along with two of our friends," said Rachel with a smile. "Kurt's at Tisch, and I'm at NYADA. He wants to show that you can succeed."

Sue grunted, eyeing them both. She nodded to Kurt before walking away.

"What was that?"

Kurt visibly relaxed. "That was the Sue Sylvester seal of approval. Congratulations Rachel, you passed."

"Passed? Passed what?"

Kurt wrapped his arm around Rachel's shoulders. "Let's just say there's an unwritten test that Sue gives all her Cheerios former and current's potential mates. If she approves, she doesn't say anything. If she doesn't approve, then I'd have 48 hours to lose you or else."

"Or else what?"

"I never asked. When it's Coach Sylvester, it's better not to."

"How is Robin by the way?"

"Cute as a button and growing strong."

"It amazes me that there is a Cheerios email newsletter."

"It amazes me that we are juniors."

"I know!" said Rachel. " Doesn't seem that long ago when we were here does it?"

They were both staring at the door of the choir room.

"From bitter allies to an uneasy truce to somewhat friends to best friends and soul mates to—"

"Hey guys!" said Will Schuester. They both turned around and saw him leading a group of students, most who looked so young and tiny that Rachel's mouth gaped.

"These can't be your kids," said Kurt. He was thinking almost the same as Rachel. They looked way too young.

"Yes, this would be them. McKinley's New Directions. We have a lot of new faces. Well, all of them are new actually."

"Wow. Hi," said Rachel with a wave. A girl with a braid down her back waved back with a smile.

"Everyone, this is Kurt Hummel and Rachel Berry. They were on the first team I took to Nationals and won with. They're going to help out with our Christmas Show."

"Wait, why are they helping us?" said a blonde haired boy in the back. "Are we that pathetic?"

"No," said Will. "You are not pathetic Connor. But Kurt and Rachel are really here as examples of what you can achieve. Both of them are attending top theatre schools in New York. The both of them are doing casting calls already. Kurt also works at a fashion magazine and Rachel records voice-overs for T.V. shows and commercials. You can achieve those dreams that we talked about in class, if you're willing to work hard at them."

"And you will work hard if you want to be an actor or a dancer," said Rachel. "It's gruesome in the theatre world. But I wouldn't trade it for anything."

Mr. Schuester clapped his hands together. "So let's go and work on those songs before the show tonight."

The group of students moved to file past them and into the choir room. Kurt could hear the students scoffing and being sarcastic and cynical as they sat down. _Had they been that bad in high school_?

Will sighed. "Sorry guys. They're kinda beat down. We didn't have enough members for sectionals. Emma and I are trying to find places to sing in the meantime so they don't feel so discouraged about missing the competition season."

"Maybe you'll find more people for next year," said Rachel encouragingly. Kurt watched as Mr. Schue's smile faded a little.

"We'll see," he said. "Shall we go in?"

Kurt and Rachel looked at each other and nodded.

* * *

Sue knew she could be wrong about things at times, but unless Rachel Berry had changed genders, something was up. She pulled out her phone book, finding Santana Lopez's number. But then she remembered that Santana and Brittany both lived in New York now along with Kurt and Rachel. She gagged at the thought she remembered all the details about the former losers of the glee club, but it was hard to forget when Will talked proudly of what his students were doing now.

Ah, there it was. One Quinn Fabray. She probably would know. She dialed her phone and waited. Quinn picked up on the third ring.

"Hello Coach Sylvester. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Quinn Fabray. My favorite former psychotic cheerleader. A little information is all I need and I'll let you get back to wandering the halls of your elite education without a worry."

"For blackmail or slander purposes?"

"Call it morbid curiosity and let's leave it at that."

"Alright," said Quinn, adjusting the strap on her book bag before she went up the stairs. She had just gotten home for the holidays and was taking her things to her bedroom. "What do you want to know?"

"Kurt Hummel and Rachel Berry. Ugh, even the mention of their names is bringing up bile in my mouth. Are they dating by chance?"

Laughter bubbled up in Quinn's body as she sat down her things. She put a hand over her mouth and chuckled.

"Gayberry? Hardly."

Sue twirled the phone cord around her fingers.

"I saw something interesting in the hallway this afternoon when I came back to pick up my extra supply of protein powder."

"And what would that be?" said Quinn innocently as she dumped her laundry she had brought home all over her bed, sorting them.

"One Kurt Hummel and Rachel Berry making out at McKinley. It was an ungodly amount of PDA that probably would have gotten them suspended were they still high school students."

Quinn stopped what she was doing and stared at her phone. Was Sue being serious?

"You're kidding right? It must have been someone else."

"Not unless they have twins."

"Unlikely," said Quinn. "Kurt and Rachel are as unique as they come."

"Then my original question still stands."

Quinn bit her lip. She couldn't believe this conversation was happening. She threw all her clothes in the hamper in her room and sat down on the bed.

"I honestly don't know," she admitted. "Kurt and Rachel do live together in New York. I've gone to visit them with Brittany and Santana, but nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary..."

"Then might I suggest a little rumoring? I hear your former glee freaks are having a party tonight."

"How did you— never mind. And yes," said Quinn, scowling. She couldn't believe she was still taking orders from Sue, even though she had been completely out from under her thumb for three years.

Once a Cheerio, _always_ a Cheerio. And since Kurt had almost single-handedly won her a championship and brought her internet fame...

"I'll see what I can come up with."

Sue hung up the phone with a smirk.

Quinn looked down at her suitcase, taking out the few small wrapped presents she had brought home for her family. While on one hand she was now insanely curious as to what Sue saw, Kurt and Rachel were the best of friends. _If_ they were having a relationship, then why shouldn't all their friends know if they're happy? It was weird though, considering Kurt had liked boys most of his life. And Rachel was far from even being butch to even fake it. On the other hand, they weren't in high school anymore. What did it matter?

More importantly, had Kurt even told Finn?

Now _that_ was an interesting question.

Quinn picked up her cell phone. She knew a certain former Mohawk'd football player who might satiate her curiosity.

She hesitated. It wasn't really her place, but she wanted answers.

It dawned on her. She knew where to get them easier than Puck.

She dialed a certain Latina's number, but it went to voicemail. So Quinn dialed Brittany's number. She rolled her eyes when she heard the phone pick up and there was a meow.

"Lord Tubbington! You're not stealing my iPhone again so you can go buy beer!" huffed Brittany. "Hello Quinn! Did you make it home alright?"

"Yeah, I did," smiled Quinn. "How are you Brittany?"

"Tired," said Brittany. "Classes make my brain hurt, but Santana is helping me."

"Good," said Quinn. "Is Santana there?"

"Yeah."

"Hand her the phone please."

"Okay."

"Santana."

"San, my place 20 minutes."

"Why?"

"Coach Sylvester."

"What does the old bitch want?"

"A possible New Directions development."

Quinn was pretty sure she heard Santana muffle a curse on the other end.

"We'll be there."

Quinn hung up the phone with a sigh.

Coach Sylvester was stirring up a problem, she could see it now.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been a long afternoon practicing with the New Directions for Rachel and Kurt. They were all good kids, just not very coordinated all together as a team. But they were shaping up well. The boy named Connor and the girl with the braid, who they learned was named Samantha, took the lead and tried to steer their teammates, earning a smile from Mr. Schue.

Rachel was starting to think maybe that Mr. Schuester had been right. They just needed a little motivation from someone their own age, or close to their age. She was 20, and Kurt was 21.

Those numbers still felt weird to her. When she turned 20 just days ago she had cried in Kurt's arms. 20 just seemed so old.

She couldn't even imagine what the kids in front of her were thinking at 15 and 16.

Mr. Schue gave them a break while he talked to the kids, and the pair wandered out in the hallway again. Rachel brushed up against Kurt, rubbing his side.

"You know, there is a nice sized closet on the third floor," she murmured.

"That will have to wait," gulped Kurt. He squeezed Rachel's hand tight. She turned around and saw Mercedes Jones and Blaine Anderson walking towards them.

"Breathe," commanded Rachel. When Kurt didn't do so, she kicked him in the back of the knee. He limped forward and made it look like he was going towards Mercedes for a hug.

"It's been so long!" The black girl hugged him tightly with a squeal. Blaine hugged Rachel, though it was more of a friendly acquaintance hug than anything. Rachel was not soon to forget the yelling bitch fit she (and others) had made in Blaine's ear right after he had let Kurt go to follow his dreams.

Rachel was still pretty sure the yelling hadn't been in Blaine's plans.

"What are you two doing here?" she said brightly. "Are you helping Mr. Schue too?"

"Yeah, he was looking for some more people for a small group number and a couple of songs?" said Blaine. "I'm guess you two are the other part of the group."

"So it would seem," said Kurt. "He invited us to come work with the kids he's got now to get them into shape before the show."

"Wow... is he okay?" asked Mercedes. "That doesn't sound like Mr. Schue."

Kurt and Rachel shared a look, and Rachel grimaced.

"I think he's feeling... nostalgic."

"In other words..."

"He needs a push."

"Pretty much."

All four of them sighed.

"So what were you two talking about?" grinned Mercedes. "You were awfully cozy. Discussing boyfriends? You two never tell me anything anymore. Are you dating?"

A yes and a no came from both Rachel and Kurt's lips. Rachel looked at Kurt. He whimpered.

"I—I can't."

"Mercedes," said Rachel quickly. "How about you and I let Blaine and Kurt talk? Privately."

The black girl gave Kurt a look that said that he'd have to explain later, but nodded. She and Rachel linked arms and they headed for the stairs.

"Kurt, I—"

"Let's go for a walk," he said softly. Kurt smiled at Blaine as they started down the hall. "How have you been? I'm sorry I haven't talked much. I—"

" You've been busy," said Blaine. "Finn was telling me. Still doing Tisch and _Vogue_ both Kurt?"

"Well, I try," he joked. "I love them both."

Blaine smiled sadly. "You've always been something else."

"What about you?" said Kurt. "Still attending Michigan?"

The black haired boy nodded. "It's nice. I needed some grounding I think. I love dreaming big like you and Rachel, but I need something stable too."

Kurt nodded. "Quinn too. She's becoming a lawyer."

"She talks to me sometimes," said Blaine. "I think she misses people."

"Well, she is quite missed. She comes to New York to visit. Has dinner with us and Brittany and Santana."

"At least all four of you live in the same city."

"It's nice," said Kurt, nodding. "Especially seeing Brittany trying to study hard over pizza. It's cute, actually."

"Good for her," said Blaine. He cleared his throat.

"Is there anyone in your life?" said Blaine. "Anyone important I mean."

Kurt took a breath. He pictured Rachel with a smile. "Yes, there is."

"Hold on," said Blaine, pulling out his phone. He was getting a text.

_Emergency New Directions Meeting. Lima Bean 4:00. If you are in the company of Kurt Hummel or Rachel Berry, do not mention it to them. See you there._

Blaine stared at the message. It was from Quinn obviously. A New Directions meeting without Kurt and Rachel? That made no sense.

"I've got to go," said Blaine. "Tell Mr. Schue that Mercedes and I both have individual numbers ready. We'll see you later."

"Blaine?" said Kurt confused. "You alright?"

"Yeah," said Blaine with a small smile.

"I'm happy if you're happy Kurt. Really."

"Blaine..."

He waved goodbye and took off. Not even a minute later, Rachel came down the hallway with her arms crossed, frowning.

"Did Blaine take off too?"

"Yeah," said Kurt. "After he got a—"

"Text," said Rachel. "Mercedes too." She sighed. "I didn't get a chance to tell her anything."

"Thank you," said Kurt. "I just— I couldn't do both of them at once."

"Don't thank me yet," said Rachel, nudging his hip. "Did you get a chance to tell Blaine?"

"Not everything," said Kurt. "He knows I'm seeing someone. He said he was happy for me."

"That's good, right?"

Kurt sighed and smiled. He held Rachel close.

"I think it is."

"I wonder where they got off to."

"No telling," said Rachel. She snapped her fingers. "I know. I bet Finn needed help setting up for the party."

Kurt huffed. "He didn't even ask me. Although I did run off early this morning."

"It was nice waking up to you," said Rachel softly. Kurt chuckled.

"It's getting to where I can't go anywhere without you Rachel Berry."

Rachel smiled and kissed at Kurt's throat. "And you'll never have to. We'll be the perfect 'it' couple in New York. You impeccably dressed at some fashion show, me on Broadway, singing my heart out. You'll be there too of course, and —"

"You'll be at my fashion show, cheering me on as my own line goes global. You'll be impeccably dressed in something from my line too of course."

Rachel laughed. "Of course."

They held hands a little longer and Rachel laid her head on Kurt's shoulder.

"Do you ever regret this?"

"No, why?"

"You changed... just for me."

Kurt scoffed. "Are you thinking that just because I get flustered around Blaine?" He heard a sniffle from somewhere in his shirt sleeve.

"Oh no you don't," said Kurt. He pulled her in front of him. "I'm still me Rachel. You know that. I didn't change. I just— I just added you to me. Well, you were already there, but you kind of— grew on me more."

"Like a fungus or mold."

"Rachel Be—"

Rachel smirked. "One step at a time Kurt."

"I hate you sometimes," he huffed, fixing his hair.

"Kurt, Rachel?"

"Up here," called Kurt. Mr. Schue ascended the stairs. They sprang apart.

"Have you seen the others? I thought Mercedes and Blaine would be here by now."

Kurt and Rachel shared a look.

"They were here, but they got called away. They said they'd be back. They both have their numbers ready."

"Well, that's good," nodded Will. "I wonder where they went."

"No idea," said Kurt truthfully. "But I'm sure they'll be back soon."

Mr. Schuester nodded. "Think you two are ready yourselves?"

"Yeah," said Rachel with a smile. "We're ready."

* * *

"Mattttttt!" cried Brittany, tackling him and giving him a fierce hug as she and Santana arrived with Quinn at the Lima Bean. He and Mike were standing outside when they pulled up.

"I can't believe you're here! Wow!"

"My parents moved back to Lima," he said with a smile. "I came home for the holidays. Was visiting Mike when he got your text. I thought I'd surprise everyone."

"It's so good to see you," said Santana, getting in a hug after Brittany let go.

"And I hear you two are together and in love," he with a small smirk. "You look cute."

Quinn gagged and hugged Matt. "Don't. They're adorkable enough as it is."

Matt and Mike grinned at each other before turning back to the girls. "But thhhhhheyyy are."

"Oh god, here it goes," laughed Santana. "It's been a while since we've seen the twins."

"We."

"Don't."

"Know."

"What."

"You're."

"Talking."

"About."

"Santana."

Brittany giggled and clapped her hands. "Do it again!"

"Uh, let's not," laughed Quinn. "Inside please."

"We've got quite a group going. With you guys here, all that's missing is Kurt and Rachel," said Mike.

"Perfect," said Quinn. "Just what we needed."

"What is going on Quinn?" asked Mike. "So is this like a pre-party?"

"It's a… I need answers so Coach Sylvester won't kill me." Quinn hoped he wouldn't notice she was lying through her teeth.

"Al-alright," said Mike, giving her a weird look. He opened the door and Quinn gasped. They really did have a large group.

"Wow."

Tina nodded in agreement to Quinn's statement as she sat down at a table.

There was Artie, Blaine, Sam, Puck, Finn, Mike, Matt, and Joe of the New Directions Boys. Including herself, Mercedes, Santana, Brittany, Tina, Sugar, Unique, Lauren of the New Directions girls. Unique had come after them, but Quinn knew she was close to Tina and Sugar, and was friends with Kurt and Mercedes.

Quinn gave Lauren a look in amusement. The former wrestler shrugged.

"I was at Puck's when he got your text. We both just flew in from L.A. Decided to tag along and see what you losers were up to."

"It's nice to see you too Lauren," smiled Quinn. Lauren quirked her lips into a smirk and nodded.

Blaine and Finn were talking low next to the table with Sam, Artie and Tina. Matt was chatting with Mike and Joe. Joe was introducing Unique, who was giving Matt a shy wave.

Standing there in the middle of all her friends, Quinn suddenly felt lost. For a few moments today, she had felt like old Quinn again obeying the commands of her cheerleading coach. Now seeing them all here together like this, it was emotional, overwhelming. They were all talking, laughing together about their lives.

_If_ Rachel and Kurt were really together, then they should be in the middle of all this, having a good time with all their friends, sharing their happiness.

Quinn decided that's what she should do. She clapped her hands together, which got the attention of the others. They had taken up practically half of the Lima Bean.

"So yeah, hi... everyone," said Quinn. "Geez. We're huge."

This got a laugh from the group.

"I know we're supposed to have a party tonight at the Hudson-Hummel household," said Quinn. "But I've just been informed by three different sources this afternoon that two of our members have been secretly together for a year and a half and have not told any of us who would be happy for them."

"Wait, who?" said Artie. "Everyone's here."

"Not all of us," said Quinn.

"So who's missing?" said Joe, looking through the crowd.

"_Oh. My. God_." screeched Mercedes. "You've got to be kidding me. Santana Lopez you'd—"

Brittany wailed. "They're going to kill me. Rachel's going to sing me to death. I'm going to die from Rachel Berry singing."

Santana patted Brittany on the back to keep her calm. "It's true. Brittany and I have known for a while now. Hard to keep that information a secret when you actually catch them kissing in Central Park."

"OUR Kurt and Rachel?" said Sam in disbelief. "But Kurt's—"

"Still as gay as Finn is tall," said Santana. "It's kind of hard to explain. New York is hard. Lord knows we've been busting our asses off trying to survive. They found comfort and love in each other. Kurt and Rachel are happy_ together_, which is the fucking weirdest thing I have ever had to say."

Everyone sat in stunned silence for a moment. Brittany was uncomfortably shifting from side to side.

"I don't believe it," said Puck. "I mean seriously? Finn did you know about this?"

Finn looked at Blaine, who was staring at the floor.

"Yeah, we sort of did."

Now everyone stared at Finn.

"We've kind of always known," said Blaine. "Rachel and Kurt were closer to each other than either of us really, especially the past couple of years." He gestured to himself and Finn. "Like Kurt can tell you at which stanza, at which note Rachel's voice broke when she auditioned for the _Life on the Mississippi_."

"And I... I was the bad one," admitted Finn. "I barely could remember that Rachel was vegan or that her idol was Streisand. Rachel tried to do everything for the both of us, but she couldn't hold us together. You all know what we've been through."

Mercedes just shook her head and sighed. "I'm going to have to have a talk with my boy. He's not supposed to be keeping secrets that huge for no year and a half."

"It's a shock to everyone," agreed Tina. "I mean... just wow. They were best friends and all, but—"

"Rachel Berry and Kurt Hummel. It's kind of cute," giggled Sugar.

"Hummelberry?" smirked Puck.

Lauren snorted, which made Quinn laugh.

"Hummelberry it is."

Unique squealed. "I'm happy for Kurt. He should be with the one he loves, no matter gender." She clapped her hands together. "So why don't we go see them? Tina said they're at the musical revue thing right? At McKinley."

"Crap," said Blaine, standing. "Mercedes, we should get going. We're supposed to be doing songs for the show too. It starts in about an hour."

"Actually," said Finn. "Can everyone wait a minute? I have an idea. How about we move the party to McKinley? I'm sure they wouldn't mind leaving it open for a little bit longer. I mean, we're such a large group now. We have more of a family..."

"Yeah," smiled Quinn. "We do." She looked at Joe who was giving her a thumbs up and a smile. "Alright then, so it's settled. Let's go grab the inevitable chips and soda and pizza that we all know Finn bought and head to McKinley."

"Hey!" said Mercedes brightly. "That reminds me. Did you bring your girlfriend home for the holidays Finn? I wanted to meet her since you posted about her online."

Finn smiled and nodded. "Yes, I did. And she's my fiancee now."

"Wait, you have a fiancee?" asked Mike. "How did I miss that?"

Finn shrugged. "It just happened. Juliet is really nice."

An "awww" went through the group. Sugar and Unique were both sniffling and wiping their eyes.

"We're all growing up aren't we?" sniffed Tina. "We're all like Juniors in college now."

"And working," said Puck, flexing his muscles. "You wouldn't believe how many underwear ads I've been in."

Lauren pulled at his ear. "It's only been four. Get off your high horse."

Puck pouted.

"Whipped," smirked Santana. Puck met her smirk with one of his own.

"Alright, let's head out," said Quinn. It felt good to be in control again. "We have a party to set up... again. Sorry Finn."

He shrugged it off.

Everyone started leaving and Finn was still sitting there. Blaine looked at Mercedes and the two of them sat down beside him.

"You've been awfully calm about this," said Mercedes.

"I mean... what am I supposed to say? Rachel... Rachel isn't mine anymore." Finn frowned.

"Although I wish my own step-brother would have talked to me about this."

"I'm sure he may have meant to," said Mercedes. "But life kind of got in the way, you know?"

"I guess."

"He hasn't exactly spoken to me either," said Blaine. "You Mercedes?"

She shook her head. "Rachel either."

"Yeah," nodded Finn. "Do you think they're like, embarrassed?"

"Not if they're kissing in Central Park," said Blaine, rolling his eyes.

"New York is not Lima, Ohio either," Mercedes added gently. "It's not where _we_ all are at heart."

"Well, I'm happy for her. Him. Them both," said Finn. "I'm just... disappointed I guess."

"I don't think they wanted to hurt us Finn."

"But didn't it though?" frowned the taller boy. "It's like they expect that we can't be happy for them."

"Maybe they think they're being selfish," said Mercedes. "Kurt always thinks he needs to stand behind his label because he had to fight for it. Up to the day he dies he'll be attending elections and gay pride parades because he feels he owes the world something for being himself."

Blaine chuckled weakly and nodded his head in agreement. "Mercedes is right," sighed Blaine. "They're both idiots..."

"And we have to show we're bitter, better?" asked Finn. "I loved Rachel, but..."

"Just be supportive," said Mercedes. "Because otherwise, they're going to run like rabbits and never come home again."

Finn looked up in surprise. "They'd really do that?"

Mercedes and Blaine shared a look.

"Yeah, they would," said Blaine. "Definitely would."


	5. Chapter 5

AN: I'm glad everyone is enjoying the story so far! Thanks for the reviews. They're like candy. :)

* * *

"Thank god," breathed out Kurt as he saw Blaine and Mercedes walk in the door of the choir room. "Mr. Schue's been panicked. Not like flailing or anything, but—"

"Yeah, I had a flat on the way here," lied Mercedes. "Had to call AAA. Blaine stopped to help."

"Oh," said Kurt. He hugged her. "You should have called Dad. Glad you got it fixed though."

Mercedes looked at him with wide eyes. "I still can't believe it."

"Mr. Humm— Kurt, can you help me with my tie?" said one of the boys. Kurt thought he was named Nathan. "I'm not good at this."

"Sure," said Kurt, giving Mercedes a look before going over to the New Directions member.

"I... wow," said Blaine. "They look so small. Are we sure they're high school students?"

"Yes, they are," said Rachel with a smile. "Cute ones too." She and Mr. Schue had entered the room. He looked relieved when he saw Mercedes and Blaine.

"Are you four going to be okay not having rehearsed?"

"We'll be fine," said Mercedes. "Me and the other diva have done this many a time."

Rachel laughed. "Yes, yes we have." They gave each other a high-five.

"Guess we'll be following where the girls lead," said Kurt lightly.

"As always," said Blaine with a smile. "Kurt's used to being led around by these girls." Mercedes laughed and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Okay Blaine," said Mercedes, whispering in his ear as Mr. Schuester started talking about the show. "You're going to have fun with this aren't you?"

"You have no idea," he said with a soft smile.

* * *

The auditorium had been done up in red and silver Christmas decorations which thankfully did not look that bad to Kurt as he peered out from behind the curtain. The seats were filling up with students and parents as he closed it and looked back to his friends chatting happily. The New Directions behind them looked nervous standing on the riser. Mr. Schue had already tried giving them a pep talk speech, which garnered a few smiles, but Rachel had done a better job. He gave her a smirk and squeezed her hand. Blaine and Mercedes were nudging each other and whispering.

"You two are awfully chummy," said Kurt as he went and stood beside the black girl when Blaine walked off to get a drink of water.

"Oh, it's nothing," said Mercedes. "Just sharing some secrets."

"Like mysterious texts?" he hip bumped her. "You two disappeared fast. And since when do you share secrets with Blaine Warbler?"

"Oh that," said Mercedes. "Finn panicked about something." She paused. "And Blaine's always been a good listener. You know that."

Kurt sighed. "Of course he did. You know, Finn didn't even ask for _my_ help."

"Maybe he wanted you to have some fun with the glee club," said Mercedes. "Mr. I'm-working-full-time-and-going-to-school-full-tim e Hummel."

"So are you."

Mercedes chuckled. "True." She leaned her head on Kurt's shoulder. Kurt wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "I miss you guys though. We're all so spread out."

"Yeah," said Kurt. "Do you ever see Puck much?"

"Not really," said Mercedes. "I see more of Lauren though. She's going to UCLA too. She's a Psychology major I think."

"I still can't believe she followed Puck out there," laughed Kurt.

"I think it's sweet," said Mercedes. "Since he's no longer in Glee and actually making something of himself, he's a less of a loser apparently." She wrapped her arms around Kurt's torso then pulled back. "Talk to me more alright? I miss us being close."

Kurt frowned. "Yeah, I've been too busy. I'll honestly be glad when I'm done with school. Not that I don't like it, it's just too much doing work and it and auditioning for things."

"At least you have Rachel, Santana and Brittany to keep you grounded."

The brown haired countertenor gave a smile after glancing over at Rachel. "Yeah. I do."

"Places people!" said Mr. Schue. "Showtime."

The four former New Directions members moved offstage, giving the new kids a wave as the curtain went up.

* * *

The Christmas show was a success. All four of the former New Directions had sounded great together even with not having practiced. The new New Directions had finally settled down and had put on a good show. Mr. Schue really had no reason to be worried. The call of the stage had worked its magic.

Blaine pulled out his cell phone and looked over to Mercedes, who had been talking to Rachel onstage. He caught her eye and gave some sort of hand signal. She nodded.

"Okay, what is going on?" asked Rachel, putting her hands on her hips. "You two disappeared, and now Blaine's giving you hand signals."

"It's nothing," grinned Mercedes with an air of mysteriousness. She patted Rachel on the shoulder with a smirk. "We'll be right back." Mercedes followed Blaine out of the auditorium.

Kurt had been speaking with Mr. Schue, who had walked off to find Emma. Rachel's nerves were up as he came back over and took her hand.

"Something's up."

"What?" said Kurt absently, looking around. "Where did Mercedes and Blaine go? I thought we'd all head back together to my house."

"They disappeared again. Mercedes said they'd be right back. Kurt-"

The doors at the back of the auditorium opened with a squeak and Rachel gasped, dropping his hand. Down the sides of the room walked their friends towards them. Tina waved, leading a line. Artie was the head of the other with a wide smirk on his lips.

"Oh dear god," said Kurt, putting a hand over his mouth as he and Rachel watched as the entire New Directions during their years descend upon them. "He really did it. Finn brought a mob."

"He forgot the pitchforks and torches. What did I ever see in him? No sense of style at all," said the brown haired girl as the group got closer to the stage with a laugh.

"Rachel," said Kurt softly, raising an eyebrow. She chuckled at Kurt's reaction. All of the former New Directions came to a stop, arms crossed. Both Kurt and Rachel gave a soft whimper. They looked at each other for support from their standing position on the stage.

"Hi," said Rachel. "What... what's going on?"

"Well," said Quinn, stepping to the front. "Christmas is a good time for sharing things with those you love. Interesting thing this afternoon. Someone shared with me a most interesting secret. After further investigation, I found out this secret is true, even though I had seen this particular two more than a few times over the last couple of years. I must admit, you did a job of hiding it. And making a particular two of us not say anything at all by threat of blackmail was quite impressive."

Rachel's eyes went wide and innocent. "Hiding what?"

Finn stepped forward. "You don't have to hide anymore Rachel. We know."

"How... how did you find out?"

"If you have to ask, you're not thinking Rachel," smirked Quinn. "Run into anyone rather… annoying this afternoon?"

Kurt groaned, slapping his hand to his face. This got a laugh out of the group of New Directions members. Rachel looked back to Kurt, who was leaning his head backwards with a sigh. He met Rachel's look with a soft side smile.

"Guess there's no sense of hiding it anymore is there?"

Rachel's smile brightened. She grabbed his hand and he brought her closer for a kiss. A yell from Puck and Mike, along with a cheer erupted from the crowd below them. Kurt kissed her forehead and they stood together for a few moments.

"Why were you hiding from us?" asked Tina, confusion evident on her face.

"Would you have believed us?" said Rachel, holding onto Kurt. "I mean, at first we didn't believe it ourselves. We tried... well, being in denial... but we kept coming back to each other till one night we just— we just clicked."

"It's been difficult," agreed Kurt. He laughed out loud. "You just don't know."

"We could have been there," pouted Mercedes. "Because honey, this is the biggest scandal to hit New Directions, like _ever_."

"This is bigger than Babygate," agreed Tina.

"And we couldn't even gossip about it!" yelled Santana with a huff. "Brittany and I have been sitting on this for _months_!"

Kurt glared at Santana. "There's a reason you were sitting on that, if you didn't remember."

"No, I haven't forgotten," said Santana, giving him a glare back. "I stayed true to my word. Brittany, not so much."

"Quinn tickled me!" whimpered Brittany. "I'm a tickle whore."

"That you are," said Sam. He reached for Brittany, who squealed and hid behind behind Matt. "Save me!"

"Oh my god, Matt!" said Rachel. She waved wildly. He smiled and waved back.

A cough came from the middle of the group. Kurt's grip strengthened on Rachel's hand when Finn started to speak.

"Kurt... does Burt and Mom know about this? I mean..."

The brown haired countertenor shook his head and looked at Rachel. "We came home to tell family this Christmas. And yes, that included you Finn."

"What about us?" said Mike, giving them a pointed look. "We're your family too, you know."

Rachel stared at Blaine quietly, who ducked his head.

"Yeah," said Blaine. "No matter what, we do care for the both of you."

The look of relief in Kurt's face made Rachel sigh in contentment.

"Thank you everyone, and I do mean all of you. Even with this... weird and large intervention. Kurt and I both... we didn't know what to say. We were paranoid that you all would be mad at us."

"Why would we be mad if you're happy?" said Tina. "That doesn't make sense."

"We worried that you'd think that I had somehow manipulated Kurt, or that Kurt was hiding behind me or something. I don't know," sighed Rachel. "It seems stupid now."

"So are you two having sex yet?" asked Puck. "Because details woman."

"Puck dude, that's my step-brother," said Finn.

"And our ex-girlfriend, so?" smirked Puck.

"Rachel, please honey. Just shoot me now," groaned Kurt with his hand over his eyes.

"Awww, he said honey," squealed Sugar, bouncing. "You're the cutest straight gay boy ever."

"And cue the straight jokes," said Artie with a smirk.

"Oh believe me, Blaine's been coming up with dozens of them this evening between songs," laughed Mercedes. Kurt flushed hard.

"Kurt's not straight, he's a bi-corn like me," said Brittany simply. "It's not fair to make fun that he found someone of the opposite sex to love on his own, even though it was plain as the nose on Rachel's face to the rest of us."

"Yes," said Rachel beaming. "I couldn't find love among straight men, so I had to find one that'll share my passion for the masculine form and show tunes."

"Yeah, if that doesn't fit Kurt, I don't know what does," smirked Santana.

"I officially hate you all," said Kurt with a scoff, crossing his arms.

"You can't hate me," said Rachel. "I'm your—"

Kurt squeaked and clamped a hand over Rachel's mouth quickly.

"Your what Kurt?" asked Quinn innocently. She smirked when he gave her a quick 'deer in the headlights' look that was classic Kurt.

"We love you all, bye!" said Rachel quickly. She pulled on Kurt's hand and headed off stage. Rachel sighed and stopped when Will and Emma appeared from the curtains.

"I thought you two were leaving?" he asked Rachel and Kurt. "I need to- uh, hi," he said when he saw all the former New Directions members on the floor of the auditorium. The group laughed as Kurt and Rachel backed up onto the main stage area. Finn and Puck, arms crossed, appeared on the other side of the stage to prevent any further movement.

"We're having a New Directions intervention, Mr. Schue," said Mercedes. "And thank you for stopping our runners."

"Intervention for what exactly?"

"Some people keeping a very large glee club secret," stated Quinn. "Two of your original members have been dating while they were in New York and haven't told anyone."

"Wait, what?" said Mr. Schue. He looked over to Kurt and Rachel, pointing his finger at them. "You two?"

"It's true," said Kurt. "Rachel and I well, we found each other." He took Rachel's hand. "About year or so now."

"Wow, congratulations. I am shocked, I will admit."

"Just hold on to that thought. We're waiting on the other shoe to drop," said Tina with a wide, knowing smirk. "So I'm your what, Rachel Berry?"

Kurt looked at Rachel. Their eyes and hands made motions. Kurt whimpered.

"It's like they're speaking their own language," said Sam, fascinated.

"Oh, they do this a lot," sighed Santana, looking over at her girlfriend. "I think Brittany's learning it sadly."

"Their language is hard," said Brittany with a frown. "Not like mine. They use a lot of obscure Broadway trivia. At least, that's what Kurt says."

"We haven't even told our families yet," said Rachel onstage after a moment.

"They are our family too," said Kurt. "They kind of need to know now that they're a mob in front of us wanting answers and they've blocked our exits."

"Alright alright," sighed Rachel, raising her hands and admitting defeat. She turned towards their friends. "Well, as my blabbermouth has ultimately caused my own demise, so here it goes: We do have another secret."

"Like we hadn't noticed," said Quinn with a smirk. "Are you pregnant Rachel?"

"Oh good lord no," said Kurt turning red. He walked off towards the side past Mr. Schue.

"You'll have to forgive him," laughed Rachel, watching Kurt. "It's one of his biggest fears that he has to tell Burt Hummel that he has a grandchild on the way any time in near future."

This garnered a few chuckles from those who knew Burt Hummel well. Kurt came back onstage and took Rachel's hand.

"We um, do have a confession to make," said Kurt. "And you all are second through nineteenth to know."

"Wait, who's first?" asked Santana.

"Brittany."

Everyone turned and looked to Brittany.

"You know their secret and you didn't tell me?" said Santana. "Britt, really?"

"Uh-huh," said Brittany, with a grin. "I can keep a secret on my own. Plus, they gave me candy."

"Of course they did," Santana groaned. "More juicy gossip right under my own nose."

"And I got a souvenir," said Brittany with a big smile at Kurt.

"So what is it?" asked Tina. "I'm dying here Kurt. Tell us!"

"Well," said Kurt, looking at the brown haired girl beside him with a smile. She swung his hand between them as he took a deep breath.

"Rachel and I are married."


	6. Chapter 6

"YOU'RE WHAT?!" yelped Finn in disbelief. "You- you're married? Kurt... Burt's going to kill you."

A pin drop could have been heard in the silence of the auditorium.

Santana slapped Brittany's arm. "So what's what you meant by nipples! When you told me that a couple of months ago, I thought you meant you accidentally saw Rachel naked or something."

"Ow! Santana, that hurt..."

A laugh erupted from Lauren. "Okay, seriously. This has been the best evening ever. Only you Glee club losers could have come up with this."

Rachel sighed, rolling her eyes. "I'm glad our personal lives have brought amusement at least." Kurt snorted.

"Okay," said Puck. "If you're married, prove it. Neither of you are wearing rings."

Rachel laughed and before Kurt could do anything, she reached around Kurt's neck under his dress shirt and pulled out a necklace. She pulled out a necklace from underneath her own ivory and green turtleneck. On both were a set of vintage gold and silver mixed metal rings, adorned with a row of square cut black and white diamonds. The wedding rings themselves though matching, had a small braided edge to them.

"They're just simple," explained Rachel. "We didn't have much time to plan. We had a couple of weeks before we could get the apartment."

"Apartment?" asked Quinn.

"At NYADA," said Rachel. "They have an apartment building set aside for their married students. And it was much cheaper than our place in Bushwick."

"So you got married to get a cheaper apartment for a couple of years?"

"We want to save," said Kurt. "We weren't... we weren't planning on telling _anyone_ about the marriage. At least for a while."

"We wanted to save so we could have a nice wedding and do some things we want to do," said Rachel. "You know Kurt. He has grandiose plans... and well, so do I, but—"

"Wow," said Tina. "This is really real isn't it? Our first real New Directions wedding and we missed it."

"No. No, we haven't," said Finn. He walked towards Rachel and Kurt. "What do you say Puck? Think we could give Kurt and Rachel a wedding, maybe even a Jewish one?"

"I mean, how?" said Puck. "We'd need time to find a rabbi, make a chuppah... did you even sign a ketubah Rachel?"

"Ahahaha," said Rachel. She looked at Kurt. "Uh no. Puck, Kurt's not exactly religious. And my Daddy—"

"We kind of need their help don't we?" broke in Finn. "Our families. I mean, we don't even have a place to have a wedding."

"Yeah, you do," said Mr. Schuester, surprising the group. They had forgotten he was there, as he and Emma hadn't said anything. "Figgins and his wife just left to visit family for the holidays. And I have the keys to the school. When Finn called earlier and asked about the party in the choir room… I thought it was great you guys were getting together." He laughed. "I don't think one more time would hurt the school as long as you're careful."

Rachel looked at Kurt, who was pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head. "Do you remember when we planned for worst case scenario?" he asked.

"Of course," said Rachel. "We both planned for our eventual funerals."

"I think we passed it."

"Aw Kurt, say yes!" said Unique, squealing as she came up onstage and took Kurt's arm. "I've always wanted to help plan a wedding before I have one of my own."

"Yeah," said Mercedes. "You and Rachel may have had plans, but we're all here, right here and now."

Rachel took Kurt's other arm. "Mercedes has a point."

"And you're okay with this?" asked Kurt, giving Rachel a pointed look. "You had plans too. Something about the Mormon Tabernacle choir and a sixteen course vegan menu."

Rachel grinned and kissed his cheek. "Unlike you, my incredibly gifted and gorgeous husband, I am open to suggestions. These are our friends, and they're _volunteering_. I think it'd be more special than anything we could come up with. Who knows where we'll all be in a couple of years."

"Okay."

"Really?" asked Mercedes. "Last chance."

"Yes, take it from me before I change my mind."

A cheer came from Tina and Brittany. Rachel hugged on Kurt's arm. She couldn't believe this was really happening. All their carefully made plans had been shot to pieces, but it was turning out not to be a bad thing.

"Rachel," said Quinn. "Not to put a damper on things, but what about a wedding dress?"

"Actually," said Rachel, looking apprehensively at Kurt. "Formal attire won't be a problem for either of us."

Kurt gave Rachel a quick glance of confusion. Rachel gave Quinn a look that said she'd explain later.

"Well, we all have a wedding to plan," smiled Finn, clapping his hands together. "But first, we have snacks and stuff waiting for us in the choir room. Let's start partying before we get to work."

A cheer went through the glee kids. The boys and some of the girls went for food, but Tina and Quinn came and tackled Rachel as Sugar and Mercedes hugged Kurt.

"I can't believe it!" said Sugar with a big smile. "We're going to have a wedding!"

"It is amazing," agreed Quinn. "But we have so much to do." She linked arms with Mercedes. "Come girls, we must plan." Tina took Sugar and Unique's arms and they left the stage.

Emma came up after the girls, giving them both a hug. "Congratulations you two."

"Thank you," said Rachel. "This makes my what, third time at trying?"

"At least maybe this time you won't end up on a train," smirked Kurt.

"Not unless you want to get rid of me."

"Hardly. If you got on a train to New York, I'd be getting on it with you to get away from this insanity. We just agreed to a glee club wedding, sight unseen."

"You let Finn plan the party."

"But that was just pizza and drinks at our house, well now the choir room. He can't mess that up, surely. Also, it was his idea."

"And neither can he mess up with the others there. Quinn and Tina won't let him."

"Well, Finn invited us to stay, so we're going to say hello to some of the others. I can't believe Matt's here," said Mr. Schue. They both walked off the stage and out.

Finally, Kurt and Rachel were alone in the auditorium.

"Oh dear god," said Kurt, sitting down on edge of the stage.

"It's not _that_ bad," said Rachel, sitting beside him. She leaned her head against his shoulder.

"No, it's not really. But it's frightening," Kurt admitted. "Everything we carefully planned shot to hell over a stolen kiss in the hallway."

"Well, not really stolen," said Rachel. She smiled and took his hand. "Guess we can wear our rings here in Ohio."

"Not yet!" said Brittany, running down the aisle. She came up to the stage and handed Rachel a bright blue folder with gold stars. "Not till you've been married by the New Directions. I thought you might need this."

"What's is it Brittany?" asked Rachel. Kurt laughed.

"It's her souvenir."

Rachel opened the folder and gasped when she saw a copy of their marriage certificate. On the other side was a photo of the two of them that Brittany had taken the day she had been a witness at their marriage ceremony.

"Where did you get a copy?"

"I gave it to her," said Kurt. "Before we framed it and hung it up. She wanted a copy to remember her promise."

"And I kept it," said Brittany brightly.

"Nipples?"

Brittany pouted. "Well, I couldn't say wedding, but I went and looked it up. I was trying to say nu—nuptials... and I think I confused Santana."

"Awww, come here," said Rachel. She gave Brittany a hug.

"Just for being so cute and smart, you can have a kiss at New Years."

Brittany stared. "With you?"

"If you can convince Santana to kiss Kurt."

"Deal!" said Brittany. "She'll have too many drinks that night anyways."

"Rachel!"

More of the former New Directions started filing into the auditorium, bringing plates of food and drinks. Santana came up beside Brittany with an extra plate of food and a bottle of soda.

"We can't have alcohol on school grounds," pouted Santana. "So it's soda and water or Carole's homemade punch."

"Is Juliet here?" asked Kurt.

Santana nodded. "Cute short red head with a Southern accent? As if you could miss that. Oh yeah, and we're eating in here. There's too much stuff in the choir room for us all."

Kurt jumped down off the stage and held out his hand for Rachel. She sighed.

"Do we have to do this now?"

"Ripping off the band aid," said Santana.

"She really is nice Rachel."

Rachel gave Kurt her hand and jumped down. She smiled as his hand went around her waist as she landed.

"Come on, let's go."

Finn and Sam came into the auditorium, rolling in a whiteboard. The rest of glee club came in behind them, carrying plates of food. Juliet was behind them all, carrying a notebook and pen.

"Congratulations! Finn just told me," beamed Juliet to Kurt. "I think he's still feeling pretty weird about it. You may need to talk to him."

"I'll work on that later," said Kurt. "This is Rachel, by the way. Rachel, Juliet. Juliet, Rachel."

"Ah," said Juliet. "The one that ran off to New York. Finn said you have a beautiful voice."

"It's nice to meet you," said Rachel, extending her hand. She blinked. "Can you just talk for a little while longer? Your accent is amazing. Sam's from Kentucky, but wow."

Juliet laughed. "I'm hearing a lot of that tonight."

"Dude, you two still here?" said Finn coming up to Kurt and Rachel. "Aren't you going home to talk to Burt?"

Kurt crossed his arms, looking sideways at his step-brother. "Well, this is a New Directions party. We're still members of the group, are we not?"

"Oh right," said Finn. He shifted his feet. "We uh, decided to go ahead and discuss details of the wedding. But we kind of... don't need you two here... for that."

Rachel clamped a hand over Kurt's mouth before he could say anything. "Alright then, I guess we've been ostracized by the group for the time being." She winked at Finn. "We can take a hint. Come on Kurt, let's go."

Finn sighed. "And aren't you two supposed to be going and talking to Mr. and Mr. Berry anyways?" Kurt whimpered under Rachel's hand.

"I need to change clothes before that," said Kurt, removing it.

"My dads aren't going to kill you Kurt."

"They might."

Rachel stuck her hand back over Kurt's mouth, rolling her eyes at Finn. "Did you bring any duct tape?" asked Rachel. Kurt looked at her murderously.

Finn laughed and shook his head.

"Go. We're doing this for you, you know."

"We know," said Rachel. "Okay Kurt, quit that." She felt him smirk behind her hand.

"You two are really cute together," said Finn. "You've made him spontaneous and give up control of things. He plans too much. Well, you do too, but... it works for you two, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," said Rachel. She hugged Finn, not even realizing she had taken her hand away from Kurt. "It does."

"I'm glad," said Finn. He shared a glance with Kurt. Rachel waved goodbye and headed for the main doors, Kurt in tow.

"About time," said Santana. Brittany cheered.

"Now we can talk about them."

"Is that really necessary?" said Finn.

"Yes!" said a chorus of voices.

Quinn stood at the back of the auditorium, waiting on the inevitable sound of Sue's track suit after Kurt and Rachel had gone. Not even five minutes later, Sue came up beside her.

"So?"

"Confirmed," said Quinn with a smile. "And exceeded. Kurt and Rachel are married. Three months. Mr. and Mrs. Hummel."

"I'm impressed," said Sue. "He had it in him more than I expected."

Quinn frowned. "What do you mean?"

"This afternoon when I happened to enter the school and came upon a rather pitiful scene of young lust... It struck me that a particular former Cheerio was acting impulsively. He never lets his guard down for anything. And for one small glimmer of a moment, he let himself go without abandon. Needless to say, I think Ms. Berry's attempts to corrupt absolutely have succeeded."

Quinn burst into laughter, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Actually Coach, I think they have corrupted each other." She smiled as she looked at the group in front of her. Sue shrugged.

"Maybe so, but who cares? They're both a pair of Broadway babies doomed to stumble around in the background for the rest of their careers."

Quinn found that deep down in her heart, she did care. She did buy herself and Rachel a train ticket to see each other after all.

"Guess I'm just a loser baby too," said Quinn. "And we have a wedding to plan. You're welcome to come Coach Sylvester, since it was you who was instrumental in getting the ball rolling."

"No, I think my work here is done," said Sue. She slipped back into the shadows of the hallway.

Quinn wandered over to Joe, who was talking to Mike and Sam.

"Hi."

"Hey yourself," he said softly. "How's school?"

"Couldn't be better," she smiled. And she meant it.


	7. Chapter 7

AN: If anyone was wondering, the wedding won't be at McKinley. Will's just being nice and offering. :)

* * *

"So we just got kicked out of a New Directions party because we're married," said Kurt, amused. He and Rachel were walking back to his Dad's truck.

"Shocker, I know," said Rachel with a smile. They sat down on the front of the vehicle, looking up at the stars.

"We are lucky, I think," said Kurt after a moment. He shivered in the cold. "I don't think we're by no means out of the woods—"

"But the picture is clearer," finished Rachel.

"I am freaking out about this whole thing," Kurt sighed. "Why did you let me agree if they weren't going to let us help plan or do anything?"

"Because it is kind of fun," admitted Rachel. "Our friends just gave up their Christmas vacations to plan a wedding. That might be enjoyable for you and Unique in there, but not so much for the rest of us."

"You know you have plans."

"Yeah, I did. I was going to make you implement them however."

Kurt turned to Rachel. "You want to sneak back in and see what they're talking about?"

Rachel rubbed her hands together. "I thought you'd never ask. Come on, let's go."

Kurt and Rachel quietly entered the main doors of McKinley, tiptoeing softly. They got to the side door of the auditorium and peeked inside and saw Mercedes and Tina at the white board. Kurt grinned and Rachel put her hand on the door to open it when they heard an "ahem" from behind them. Kurt and Rachel both jumped and turned around quickly. Lauren and Puck standing behind them.

"We were expecting this," said Puck, raising an eyebrow.

"Do realize your friends know you better than you do," said Lauren with her arms crossed.

"But—" whimpered Rachel. "We were just curious!"

"Uh-huh," said Puck. "Come on."

Puck pushed Rachel and Kurt back towards the main hall of the school. "We'll just have to mention this to Finn and Mercedes. We may need armed guards Lauren. Kurt and Rachel both are experts breaking into Vocal Adrenaline and Warbler practices."

"Armed guards, really Puck?"

Puck smirked. Rachel rolled her eyes. None of them had noticed that Kurt had snuck off to the other door of the auditorium and was looking at the white board down at front, near the stage.

"Does that say ELVIS IMPERSONATOR?"

"Kurt!" said Rachel with squeal as Puck chased after him. He ducked Puck's arm and waved cheekily as he grabbed Rachel's hand and ran out of the building, both laughing hard.

"Did the board really say Elvis impersonator?"

"Yes," glowered Kurt. "I really hope that was a joke."

Puck laughed at their retreat and swung open the door.

"You can flip the board around. They're gone."

"So they seriously tried to sneak back in?" sighed Quinn, turning around in her seat.

"Twice."

Mercedes flipped the board around after erasing the fake side. "Did you expect any less from Rachel Berry and Kurt Hummel? That boy is going to have a mental breakdown. You do remember how he had every minute planned out for his Dad's wedding?"

Tina laughed. "We are so weird. We're planning Rachel Berry's wedding. I mean, Rachel. The girl who we all wanted to or did hate on during glee club."

"Rachel's alright," said Santana, surprising everyone. "She's mellowed some now that she's actually close to her dreams. She and Kurt are doing casting calls. They're _deliriously_ happy."

"Not like you're not enjoying being an actor and doing the same thing," said Brittany, hugging her girlfriend close.

"I am," smiled Santana. "More than anything."

"Sap," smirked Quinn.

"You hush Miss 4.0 GPA," smirked Santana.

"And proud of it," smiled Quinn.

"I love my drama school in Chicago too," said Tina. "I love being on stage."

"Dancing is amazing," agreed Mike. "I have a commercial to film after New Years."

"Wow, I knew things have been crazy busy but geez," said Artie. "When did so much start to happen in our little glee club world?"

"We're in the real world now," said Sugar with a sigh. "It's faster and not everyone can be bought."

No one questioned Sugar what she meant. It was best not to.

"Okay!" said Finn. "There's still more pizza and stuff if anyone wants any. Let's get started..."

* * *

Emma and Will sat in Emma's office, relaxing. They could hear their former students in the auditorium laughing and talking loudly.

"Well, everything went smoothly tonight with the revue show," said Emma to her husband.

"Yeah, it did," smiled Will. "I'm glad it went so well. The kids seemed to take a shine to Kurt and Rachel. I hate that they didn't get a chance to meet Mercedes and Blaine till really late. But I guess I see why."

"That was out of the blue wasn't it?"

"Yeah," laughed Will. "It's funny how invested they are still in each other. How many of our other classes would care so much about what their former schoolmates are doing?"

"They bonded," said Emma. "They went through three years of trying for Nationals. You only have yourself to thank for that Will. They're a family."

"You're right," laughed Will. "They are. I think that's what I've been missing. Getting the kids to look out for each other. Make them bond."

"Harder than it sounds," said Emma. "But doable."

Will Schuester nodded and looked off into the distance.

"It's still hard to believe. Kurt and Rachel?"

"The one pairing the club hadn't tried," laughed Emma. "I told them such when they came in to ask about Julliard and I told them about NYADA."

"Seems so long ago now."

"Three years," said Emma. "Almost four come this spring."

"Wow," said Will. He looked at his phone to check the time. "I wonder what all they will have to do to pull this off?"

"Who knows?" said Emma with a smile. "Should be interesting to watch. That reminds me." She pulled out a folder from her desk.

"Take this and give it to Mercedes. It's a listing of all the wedding vendors in Lima."

"You still have this?" said Will, opening it.

"Well, you never know," said Emma. "Marriages do pop up from time to time."

Will laughed and shook his head. He stood and went to the auditorium.

* * *

"You look fine," said Rachel. "My Dads love you Kurt."

"They're going to kill me. Us. The both of us. We cheated them out of their daughter's wedding."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Dad and Daddy know I make my own decisions. I wouldn't exactly send you to your death. I do love you too much." She hugged Kurt from the back.

"Love you too," he said softly, leaning into her. He felt Rachel reaching for her keys out of her purse. As she opened the door, they saw her Dads wandering into the living room from the kitchen.

"Well, that was fast," said Leroy. "How did it go with the kids?"

"Great," said Rachel, taking hers and Kurt's coats. "They were really good, just need some polishing. I'm sure Mr. Schue will take care of that."

"You two didn't go to the party afterwards?"

Kurt and Rachel shared a look.

"The party came to us actually," said Kurt, rubbing his ear.

"Oh?" said Hiram, sitting on the couch beside Leroy. "How so?"

"We got caught," said Rachel. Kurt took her hand. "Our friends found us out."

"Uh-huh," said Leroy. "I suppose it was inevitable."

"Not like you could hide it forever."

"When were you planning on telling us formally Rachel?"

"Christmas," said Rachel. "I know I talked to you before..."

"And we appreciate that dear, but—"

"Kurt and I are married," said Rachel suddenly. She felt Kurt's hand tighten around hers.

"Rachel, cupcake-"

"I'm sorry," she said. A tear trickled down her cheek. "We got married about three months ago. We want to be together Daddy."

"I'm—I'm shocked," said Hiram. "You two did this on your own."

"Yes."

Hiram looked at Leroy. The black man shrugged and smiled. Leroy stood and hugged Rachel tight.

"Congratulations sweetheart."

"Daddy?"

"If you're really that happy, then you should have told us," Hiram said gently. "We're only skeptical and hard on you sometimes because we want to make sure you are happy with your decisions."

"I am," said Rachel with a smile. She reached out and took Kurt's hand again. "Really happy. He knows me better than me sometimes."

"I've had a lot of practice," joked Kurt. "Same mind and all."

"It's hard to believe you two are married. Did you get married with a Justice of the Peace?"

"Yes," said Rachel. "We did it after about a week of planning. We have proof."

"Oh?" said Leroy.

Kurt opened his shoulder bag and handed Rachel the folder. She handed it to Hiram.

"Weren't you two cute?" said Hiram. "Is that your friend Brittany's signature?"

"Yes," said Kurt. "She was our witness."

"So I guess it is official then?"

"At least, in New York," laughed Rachel. "Our friends wants to throw us a wedding here in Lima."

"Oh really?" said Leroy, throwing a look at Hiram. "When?"

"A few days from now," said Kurt, checking the date Finn had sent him on his phone. "After Christmas."

"So the...27th?"

"Yes."

"Hmm," said Hiram. "Interesting. Why are they throwing you a wedding?"

"First glee club marriage. Finn brought it up, and everyone volunteered."

"The first out of your friends?"

"Yes."

"I would have never guessed after three years," said Hiram. "But then you were always the type to do everything first."

"I try," said Rachel. "Although I'm secretly rooting for Kurt to beat me onto Broadway."

"Honey, do you mind going to your room for a moment and let us speak to Kurt privately?"

Rachel looked worriedly at Kurt, but nodded. Kurt's throat was scratchy and he swallowed hard. Rachel nudged his side before she left. Kurt knew and liked Hiram and Leroy well enough, but this was different. He no longer was the ally, but the enemy. He felt like he needed a foxhole and a helmet.

"Kurt," began Hiram. "Before we go any further with this discussion, I just want you to know that we understand any sexuality questions that may have arisen. We're not going to attack you on this, just to be clear. But what we'd like to know is... have you always had feelings for Rachel, even in high school?"

Kurt frowned and thought about it. "No... For a long time, I thought she was annoying and pushy. Then we found out how like minded we were in or junior year so we became friends... And of course, we were inseparable for our senior year as you well know. I guess the feelings of knowing Rachel was the one I wanted to be with for the rest of my life appeared while when we both had been studying for school and needed to take breaks just to relieve stress. We'd laugh and make jokes and eat ice cream. I knew... something was different the moment I wanted to kiss the chocolate off her lips. I struggled with that for a long while. It got worse when it'd be cold and Rachel would climb into my bed for warmth. With Finn and Blaine gone, we leaned on each other so much. Rachel even admitted one night we needed other people or we were going to fall in love. And... I think that's what happened."

"And you do love her?"

"Very much yes. She is the other half of me."

"And you have no worries of you two being together?"

"If you're worried about whether my feelings will change for her if I meet other men... I can assure you they won't. And I'm sorry I let Rachel talk me out of letting you have your daughter's wedding. It was the spur of the moment, and we—"

"What about your Dad Kurt?"

"...Dad?"

"Did you think that he might want to be at your wedding as well?"

Kurt bit his lip and said nothing.

"It's easy to apologize, not so easy to think about the consequences. Remember that."

"I know it well," said Kurt bitterly.

"Blaine I'm assuming."

"Yes."

Leroy nodded. Hiram sighed.

"I don't think this is one of the things we thought out when we were planning our daughter's wedding is it?"

Leroy laughed. "Hardly." He gestured to Kurt to sit down.

"Weren't you even the one who tried to tell Rachel to wait five years to marry Finn?"

Kurt blushed. "I—I did. I didn't expect that to come back and bite _me_ however."

"Funny how words work sometimes," said Hiram, setting down his after dinner tea.

"Funny how life works," said Kurt. "I fought my whole life to be me. Then life goes and changes me."

"Sometimes things work out that way," said Hiram. "I was prepared to marry a wife and become an accountant. Then Leroy came into my life and I knew I didn't want him to go away."

"Sounds familiar," said Kurt. "Very familiar." He looked off into the distance and smiled. "I love her, I really do. She amazes me when she shines."

"Yes, she does," nodded Leroy. "She's always been our little star."

"Daddy?" said Rachel, peeking her head around the corner. "I know you two are having a talk with Kurt, but I just wanted to remind you that we still have one more stop to make tonight."

"The Hummel household I'm assuming?"

"Yes."

Hiram came over to Rachel, taking her by the hand. She giggled. "Daddy, what are you doing?" He pulled her over to Kurt's side and went over to Leroy.

"They are cute together."

Rachel slipped a hand around Kurt's waist. He did the same, taking her other hand into his.

"We really should have expected this. Our daughter making her own decisions without consulting her fathers."

"She's grown up hasn't she?"

"What are you two talking about?" said Rachel. "I'll always ask you about things. I'll always be your little girl."

Hiram came over and kissed Rachel's forehead and smiled sadly. He patted Kurt on the shoulder. "Take care of her in New York please."

Leroy crossed his arms. "And who do we need to get in contact with about this wedding?"

Rachel squealed and pulled out her phone. "I'll send you Quinn's and Mercedes' cell. We haven't told Mr. Hummel yet, or I'd give you his number..."

"We know Burt's number," said Hiram, sticking his hands in his pockets. "I'm only asking this as a father Kurt. But he doesn't know anything at all?"

Rachel looked to Kurt, who was doing his best to not catch any of their eyes.

"So you're going to blindside him."

"Yeah," said Kurt with a sigh. "Unfortunately that tends to be our M.O. I love my Dad, but we've never been one just to sit down and talk."

"Maybe it's time you did," said Leroy. "He deserves that much."

"Come on Kurt," said Rachel. "Let's go."

Kurt dropped Rachel's hand for a moment, going over to Leroy and Hiram. He hugged them both.

"Thank you."

"Is that an overnight bag sitting by the door Rachel?" asked Hiram. He gave his daughter a look.

"Er, well yes," said Rachel. "I was going to stay with Kurt after he tells his Dad. He'll need the company."

"I'm afraid I can't allow that sweetie," said Leroy.

"Why?"

"You're not married yet. You can't just stay overnight at a boy's house."

"Daddy!"

Kurt laughed, putting his hand over his mouth as he did so.

The smiles of amusement on Leroy and Hiram's faces were lost on Rachel as she huffed and ranted.

"But we live together in New York Daddy! For a long time now, and—"

"Rachel, sweetie... I think your Dad is joking," said Kurt.

Hiram let out a snort that reminded Kurt way too much of Rachel. Leroy was grinning. Hiram kissed the top of Rachel's head.

"You two be safe going out."

Rachel smiled. "Love you both." She hugged them together.

"Good night," said Leroy. "And good luck." He squeezed Kurt's shoulder. Both of the elder Berry men left the room.

Rachel was giddy as she pulled Kurt down onto the couch.

"See, I told you they wouldn't kill you."

"No, I just had to give my life story," smiled Kurt. "But it is worth it. Two steps down, one to go."

"We can do this," said Rachel firmly. "Although Burt may kill me, I don't know. I wonder what Carole's going to think. She's going to think I'm a regular Jezebel after all this."

"No idea who that is, but we'll find out soon, I suppose," said Kurt. He wrapped his arms around Rachel's waist. Rachel ran her fingers through Kurt's hair with a smile.

"Can we just stay here for a little while?" Rachel moved to rubbing his ears.

"I'll stay here the rest of the night if you keep doing that."

"At least my fathers didn't say anything about you not having the best of intentions when they tried to tease me. I'd have to agree with them."

"If only they knew their child was the one with the wandering hands."

She gasped. "You would impugn on the honor of the Berry family name?"

"No, but only because you're short and your hands are closer to parts of my anatomy I'm quite attached to."

Rachel laughed and went to kiss Kurt's cheek, but he turned and they met lip to lip. They kissed softly for a few moments, before deepening it. Rachel's tongue slid across the top of Kurt's as he pulled her closer. Rachel felt Kurt's hands under her own shirt with a smile. They were caressing the underside of her breasts and she whimpered at how warm his hands were. She pulled his shirt out of his pants. Rachel licked her lips as she felt him squirm as her hands went down further, unfastening the waistband of his fitted black pants.

"We need to go before you really undo me," whimpered Kurt into Rachel's ear.

"I'd like that," said Rachel. "You giving in and taking control is the best part."

They both looked at the clock on the wall with a sigh. Kurt kissed her again and worked on tucking his shirt back in.

"We really need to go if we're going to catch my Dad awake."

They both straightened their clothes, almost wishing they didn't have to. Kurt looked at Rachel pointedly. "By the way, what did you mean when you told Quinn that proper attire wouldn't be a problem for the both of us?"

Rachel smirked. "I do have my own secrets when it comes to your Christmas present. Like someone with _my_ Christmas present I haven't seen yet."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "You're going to have to spill sometime. And you know you're getting your present... in a couple of months."

Rachel kissed Kurt again. "I will, but not to you. It'd ruin the surprise."

He narrowed his eyes. Rachel reached out and adjusted his tie.

"You'll like it. I didn't pick it out, if that's what you're worried about."

"Now I am worried. I mean, how—"

"I ran into Isabelle during lunch one day."

"And she remembered you?"

"Yes, she did," scoffed Rachel, standing a little taller. "Of course, she only remembered me as makeover girl, but all the same..."

"Go on."

"She saw my rings, and remarked that she had seen the same ones on you."

"So let me guess… she put two and two together."

"Yes, and she was happy for us."

"She hasn't said anything to me about this."

Rachel smiled. "We girls do know how to keep a secret. And I asked for her help. I wanted to get you something nice... and so we sat down over salads and a couple of sweet sunrises and did a little internet shopping."

"Uh-huh," said Kurt, raising an eyebrow. He took Rachel's hand as they walked out of the Berry household.

"And what did you two girls talk about?"

Rachel giggled. "That's our secret."

"I'm going to have to have a talk with my boss."

Rachel swatted at his arm. "Spoilsport."

"So now, what about you? You were included in that attire comment you made."

"Isabelle, again. She had something sent to me. It isn't a wedding dress, but it's beautiful. It complements yours."

"She really is turning into my fairy godmother," muttered Kurt. He opened the door to his Dad's truck.

"What do you mean?"

"Something Santana says," said Kurt, shaking his head. "She claims Isabelle is my fairy godmother, wings and everything. I doubt that my fairy godmother would work me quite as hard. I need presents."

Rachel slid into the vehicle beside him. "Don't you think Tisch, working a steady fashion magazine job, marrying me, and our friends is enough?"

"I meant couture presents, not life presents."

* * *

When they arrived at the Hummel residence, they found Carole in the kitchen making popcorn. "Hey Kurt, you're home early. We're watching a movie. One of those _Lifetime _Christmas things. So glad you guys decided to move the party to McKinley. I-Oh."

It took Kurt a second to realize Carole was staring at his and Rachel's clasped hands.

"Oops," said Rachel. She nudged Kurt's side, who spoke as he squeezed her hand.

"Can we talk to you and Dad for a few minutes before your movie?"

Carole was still staring at Kurt and Rachel's hands. "Uh, sure! I'll— I'll go turn off the TV and...everything."

Kurt took Rachel's jacket with his and laid them across the kitchen chairs. Rachel felt Kurt take a deep breath beside her.

"Breathe."

"I am well aware of the implications if I don't," said Kurt with a hint of sarcasm. "It's just my Dad, you know?"

"I know," said Rachel. "And you handled my Dads wonderfully. You can do this."

Kurt whimpered and Rachel kissed his hand and pushed him towards the living room.

"Hey Dad," said Kurt weakly.

"Carole said you needed to talk to me about something."

"I did, I mean, I do. Dad, I... there's something I've been meaning to tell you, and Rachel and I have decided it's time."

"You and Rachel?" said Burt. "You two haven't been kicked out of your new apartment or anything have you? Because I mean, I can help if you need to find another one..."

"No, we haven't been kicked out Mr. Hummel," said Rachel. "We're perfectly fine living space wise. Perfectly fine _together_."

Carole let out a small nervous laugh, shaking her head.

"Then what is the matter?" asked Burt, eyeing his son. "You don't usually come to talk to me like this unless something is wrong."

"There's nothing wrong," said Kurt. "But something right. I have... a _very_ large confession to make. I know I told you I wasn't seeing anyone, but I wasn't being truthful. I have been seeing someone, and it's pretty serious. So serious that I— I married her."

Burt's mouth fell open and he looked away. Rachel grabbed Kurt's hand and squeezed it hard before rubbing his shoulder. Burt picked up his beer with a laugh. He shook his head.

"Forgive me a moment while I take a drink of this. I think my throat ran dry." He coughed and took a large swig. Carole was fanning her face with her hand.

"Kurt, before I begin... are you telling me the truth?"

"Yes, he is Mr. Hummel," began Rachel. "Believe me, I would know."

Burt looked at Rachel in faint surprise. "You're not just here for emotional support."

"No," smiled Rachel. She leaned into Kurt.

"So, you two..."

"Yes," said Kurt. He picked up Rachel's hand. "We've been dating for about a year and a half now... if you count all the little things. We got married in New York three months ago."

"Wow," said Burt, taking another swig from his bottle. "I expected something was going on when you weren't talking about missing Blaine or talking to Carole about a date, but I never expected this. Kurt, you..."

"I know," said Kurt. "I'm supposed to be gay and I—"

"No, that's not it Kurt," frowned Burt. "I'm sorry I've failed you son."

"What? Dad, no. You haven't—"

"Yes, I did," frowned Burt. "Just because you came out to me and everyone doesn't mean you can't find love in any form. I've told you before that I would help you fight to love whoever you wanted to love. I admit I'm disappointed that you hid everything from me Kurt. Really disappointed. But... I'm happy if you're happy... with Ms. Berry here."

"Dad," said Kurt.

"I'm still having a talk with you young lady," said Burt, shaking his finger at Rachel. "I can't believe you let him not tell me anything. I would have expected your Dads to teach you better than that."

Rachel squeaked. Kurt laughed.

"Dad doesn't bite Rachel."

"No, I just nibble. On popcorn." Carole handed him the bowl and got up to hug Rachel and Kurt's necks.

"I must say, I'm thoroughly confused," said Carole. "When did you two develop feelings for each other?"

Rachel thought about it for a moment. "For me, it was one night when we were both exhausted to the point that neither one of us had slept, but we still had classes. Kurt managed to drag himself out of bed and made us both organic oatmeal with fruit. I just kept picturing us together doing this when we're both in our 70's and grey and that I didn't want it to be anyone else. At first I thought it was silly, Kurt's my best gay. I couldn't. But we kept finding each other at the end of a long day. Time and maybe a little push made us take it a step further."

"So you two got married without telling anyone?"

"Yes," said Rachel. "We just decided to go for it."

"Carole, Rachel, can I talk to Kurt alone for a moment?" asked Burt.

Rachel walked towards the kitchen with Carole not far behind.

"Kurt, come sit down," said Burt. The brown haired boy complied, sitting down next to his Dad.

"I'm really surprised," Burt said. "I would have never considered you the eloping type, unless I didn't approve of your partner."

"I wouldn't have," said Kurt with a frown, looking down at his hands. "I do value your opinion Dad."

"Then why didn't you say anything?"

Kurt nodded towards the picture of Finn in his football jersey sitting on the mantle.

"Oh... OH," said Burt. He coughed. "I see."

"Do remember, we went through this about three years ago."

"Weren't you even the one who told Rachel—"

Kurt's cheeks went pink. "Yes, _I_ was the one who told Rachel she could wait five years. I didn't think then that _we'd_ end up together."

"Funny how life works sometimes," said Burt.

"Don't remind me," sighed Kurt, smiling at his Dad. "Rachel does make me happy. And I never thought I'd say that. She's been my best friend for five years now... my wife for three months. It's a little unreal." He picked at his collar.

"You're wearing a necklace," commented Burt. "I've never seen you wear anything but brooches."

"Oh," said Kurt. He took off his necklace. "It's my wedding rings."

Burt swallowed hard. "You bought wedding rings?" Kurt nodded.

"If I had known, I would have given you your mother's," said Burt. "They're upstairs, in a box." He adjusted his hat, trying to fight back tears. "They weren't much, but I did what I could." He took Kurt's rings into his hands. "Did you two pick these out together?"

"Yeah, we did," said Kurt. "Rachel just had to have us have a matching set. We were 'engaged' for all of two days before we had the appointment with the Justice of the Peace."

"I see," said Burt. He handed Kurt back the rings. "You two should put them on. It is something to be treasured."

Kurt laughed. "We can't actually. We're not allowed till after the wedding."

Burt looked confused. "Wedding?"

"Yes," said Rachel, appearing in the doorway. She came over and sat on Kurt's lap and Carole came back into the room.

"Their New Directions want to throw them a wedding," said Carole. "Finn just called to see if Rachel and Kurt had made it here."

"Let me guess, he was worried we ran away?" sighed Kurt.

Carole laughed. "More like he was worried the Berry's had locked you in the basement and ran Rachel back to New York."

"Not my kid," said Burt. "Although I may agree with Finn's sentiment. Too bad we no longer have a basement."

"Hey!" pouted Kurt. Rachel giggled and kissed Kurt's forehead.

"21 is too young for getting married," huffed Burt.

"And when did you marry Mom?"

"I was 19, she was 17," sighed Burt. "That's beside the point."

"Daddy and Dad didn't get officially get married till they were in their 40's," said Rachel.

"I suppose we could have waited," sighed Kurt.

Rachel shook her long hair. "I'm glad we didn't. We did it on our own, our way. We met the Justice for coffee, and she married us over chai and mocha. I think we shocked all the coffee patrons at the shop, but we did get a standing ovation. Then Brittany took us out to lunch at her favorite noodle house. Who knew Brittany knows good soba?"

"Then we walked through Central Park," said Kurt with a small smile. "Longest walk _ever_."

"Only because everyone kept stopping and complimenting you on your white leather pants," smirked Rachel.

"Just because I'm going for a walk is no excuse for not being fashionable," said Kurt, holding his nose in the air.

Rachel chuckled. "Of course."

"So I'm assuming the glee club kids want our help," said Burt. "Not that I'm surprised of course."

"Yes," said Carole. "Once they have your blessing. They're going to meet up again tomorrow and start finalizing decisions. I think they want the parents there as well."

"I still can't believe we agreed to this," sighed Kurt.

"It's sweet," said Carole. "Your friends obviously adore you two."

Burt grunted. "So my blessing huh?"

"Please Mr. Hummel," said Rachel.

"Call me Burt Rachel, if you're going to be in my family."

"Burt," giggled Rachel. She got up and hugged him. She kissed his cheek.

"I am happy to call you Father in Law."

"Oof, I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet."

Rachel whispered in Burt's ear.

"Now that I wouldn't mind. Take care of my kid Rachel."

Rachel nodded and Kurt looked at her strangely.

"What did you say to Dad?"

"Nothing," grinned Rachel. She extended a hand to him, and he got up off the couch. She hugged him.

"This is turning out to be the better Christmas than we planned for."

"Yeah," smiled Kurt. "Now only if my wife wouldn't keep secrets."

"I no longer hold all the secrets," said Rachel with a smile. "Quinn knows. I texted her pictures in the truck. Which is why you are not going anywhere near my bedroom till she has time to pick them up in the morning."

Kurt's jaw dropped. "You had nice new clothes in your closet this morning and didn't say a word?

"Actually they arrived in the mail yesterday," said Rachel. "I Fedex'd them. I knew I definitely couldn't get away with packing them in our suitcases."

Kurt scoffed. "I would have definitely hurt you if you packed Isabelle recommended clothing in our tiny suitcases."

"You mean _my_ tiny suitcase. Yours could hold a camel."

Kurt glowered at his wife. "I am well prepared."

"Only if World War III was a runway walk."

"That would be a fabulous war, and we definitely would outshine Russia. Have you seen those furs?"

"I don't think those McQueen's you butchered in 10th grade count."

"Hey, I worked hard on those."

"Sequins on 1,400 dollar shoes Kurt."

"Hush Mrs. Reindeer sweater. I made those, thank you very much."

A snort came from the direction of Kurt's Dad. They looked over to see Carole sitting against Burt on the couch and they were sharing the popcorn bowl.

"Oh don't mind us," said Burt. "Do continue. This is better than the _Lifetime_ movie we were going to watch."

"Much better," agreed Carole.

Kurt opened his mouth to say something, but they heard a key scraping the lock in the front door. All four of them watched as Finn and Juliet entered the residence. Juliet was giggling about something, but she stopped when she saw Rachel and Kurt standing in the living room.

"Did we come back at the bad time?" asked Juliet. "We can go back out..."

"Oh no," said Carole with a smile. "You kids finished?"

"Yeah, after you texted me Mom, we closed up for the night. There's still some leftover pizza and snacks left in the car I've got to bring in. You guys want anything?" said Finn.

"I am starving since we got kicked out of the New Directions party," said Rachel. "You got any veggie pizza left?"

"Almost a whole one," said Finn. "Since well, you and Kurt weren't there to eat it. I think Joe and Quinn had a couple of slices."

"Sounds perfect," said Rachel. "Finn, you and Juliet can keep us company. I want to know more about your Juliet."

* * *

Later that evening, Carole and Burt were laying on the couch, looking at their Christmas tree lights blinking in the low light of the room. A soft Christmas melody played on the radio.

"Our grown children are home," said Carole softly as she cuddled into Burt's shoulder. "Our grown, now attached children. With wives and fiancees."

"If you had said that yesterday, I would have never believed you. Finn yes, but..."

"Things happen," shrugged Carole. "I wondered how Kurt was able to join Rachel in a NYADA apartment when he isn't even a student."

"Mmm," said Burt. "And why he hadn't said anything to you or Finn about dates."

"Did you talk to Hiram?"

"I did," said Burt. "We both agreed to help the kids with finances."

"Good," said Carole. "If you didn't, I was."

"Carole."

"I know, I'm sentimental," sighed the brown haired woman.

"You're not the only one," chuckled Burt. "After this, you realize we have to save for Finn's."

"I think Juliet wants to have the wedding in Georgia," said Carole. "Something about there being a really pretty lake around Augusta."

"Sounds nice," said Burt. "We can have a little family vacation."

"I showed her pictures from our wedding," said Carole. "I think she wants Kurt to plan hers."

"Oh Kurt will love that," said Burt. "Especially since he gets to put Finn in a deluxe monkey suit."

Carole laughed. "I'm sure."

"I can't believe we let them upstairs."

"_Burt._ Juliet would have nowhere else to go, and Kurt would just go to Rachel's house. It's Christmas."

"I know. I'm just old and grumpy," sighed Burt. "I want them to still be kids."

Carole patted her husband on the stomach. "Want another beer?"

He shook his head. "I think I'm just going to head to bed. I think we're going to have a lot to do tomorrow. Apparently Quinn and Mercedes will be contacting us with colors for our own wedding outfits."

"Well as father and mother of the groom..."

Burt laughed. "How they're going to pull this off in a couple of days I want to know."

"Christmas miracle, I suppose. The wedding planner isn't even allowed to peek, I hear. How long do you think he'll last?"

"None," said Burt. "Finn told me that Kurt and Rachel already tried to sneak back into the auditorium this evening."

Carole chuckled. "I'm not surprised."

Burt kissed his wife on the cheek and headed upstairs.

* * *

"I forgot you have such a tiny bathroom in this newer house," commented Rachel as she turned off the overhead light after packing away her toiletries.

Kurt closed the magazine he was reading in bed. Rachel turned down the covers and slipped in beside him.

"At least I didn't have to share with Finn," said Kurt. "I'll take tiny any day."

Rachel nodded and laid her head on Kurt's chest. Her hair was still slightly damp from their nightly facials, and he was glad he wasn't wearing silk pajamas. He kissed the top of her head.

"Don't pretend I don't see keys sitting on top of khakis and a jacket," said Rachel. "I've got my eye on you Kurt Hummel."

"I might make us a coffee run in the morning, did you think of that?"

"Just as long as it doesn't go by the Berry residence, it's fine."

Kurt sighed and turned off the lamp. The soft light from the moon flickered in through the soft curtains.

"I hate you Rachel Berry."

"The feeling is mutual Kurt Hummel."

They intertwined fingers and snuggled up against each other in the darkness.


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning, Rachel awoke to Kurt combing his hair in the full length mirror. It was still wet from the shower.

"Sneak," she said with a smile as she stretched under the covers.

"I decided to wait for you to wake up. You want coffee?"

"I'd love some."

"Dad said we could use the truck if we wanted."

Rachel nodded and got out of bed with a yawn.

"Everybody out of the house?"

Kurt made a face. "Not yet. Finn's already taken Juliet out for breakfast but Dad and Carole are still here. They're waiting on something, I don't know. They're so secretive."

Rachel came up behind Kurt and hugged him from behind. "Let's go get some coffee and go see what the others are up to then."

"I love the way you think," smirked Kurt. "You shower."

Rachel grabbed Kurt's hips, which led to a yelp and a glare. He threw a towel at his wife, who giggled and threw it back as she picked up her overnight bag and swung her hips suggestively as she closed the bathroom door. Rachel hissed at the amount of steam still left in the bathroom. She couldn't even see the mirror.

"It's like a sauna in here, geez Kurt!"

Kurt laughed and picked up his hairspray. Rachel's words reminded him so much of their first year in New York.

"You snooze, you loose," he said back.

"You're lucky I'm naked," mumbled Rachel as she undressed.

"When has that ever stopped you?"

"When there's other people in your house."

"Never stopped you when Santana and Brittany are over."

"Yeah well," grumbled Rachel through the door. "It's Brittany. She has no personal boundaries."

Kurt rolled his eyes. That was the truth. He loved the former cheerleader, but her roaming hands were just that.

"I'm going downstairs," said Kurt. "We'll go by your house afterwards."

"You're too late," said Rachel, rinsing her hair in the shower. "Quinn's already been to my house."

Rachel chuckled to herself when she heard Kurt swear under his breath. She heard the door open and shut. She conditioned her hair, rubbing the gel like product through her long locks. She left it in for a few minutes while she finished the rest of her cleansing routine. After rinsing her hair of the conditioner and combing it out, Rachel took the white robe with a stylized "K" on the chest off the wall and put it on. She sat her overnight bag on the bed as she stepped out of the bathroom. Her clothes laid out, she sighed and smelled of the robe. It smelled like Kurt's shampoo and body wash and she could smell of the two forever. She smiled as she heard voices downstairs and the slam of the front door. A few moments later, Kurt came back in and swung the door to his bedroom closed.

"Dad's gone, and Carole's working on a cake before she leaves. I think we— Oh."

Rachel was already dressed and sliding on some ankle boots.

"I didn't think you'd be dressed yet."

Rachel arched an eyebrow.

"Shush," he blushed.

"I think it's cute," said Rachel, kissing his cheek. "Perhaps something from our favorite Lima establishment and then we can think about that. But before we can go and spy on our friends, I need to do my hair."

"Leave it loose," said Kurt. "It looks great with your outfit."

Rachel looked in the mirror and considered it. She nodded, grabbing her brush.

"I do love that I can get fashion advice from my husband."

Kurt smiled and sat down on the bed, straightening his jacket as he did so. Satisfied with her work, she put the brush away and bent down and kissed him softly.

"You taste like raspberries."

"Jam," said Kurt. "Carole made sausage and biscuits."

Rachel nodded and picked up her purse.

"Shall we go? We can get my car from my house so we're not leaving Carole without transportation."

Kurt nodded and stood. He picked up his phone and keys off the dresser and looked in the mirror one last time.

"Come on, let's go," he said, kissing Rachel on the cheek with a smile.

* * *

They drove into the Lima Bean parking lot a few minutes later, laughing at Rachel's demonstration of an exaggerated dance move as they got out.

"She shimmed just like you Kurt. It was almost uncanny."

"Un-can-ny?"

"Haha," laughed Rachel as she put a hand on Kurt's arm. He was pretending to shake his ass as she giggled. He stopped suddenly.

"Okay, seriously?" sighed Kurt. Rachel looked up and saw Sam and Mike glaring at the both of them.

"We just want coffee! We're not here to spy. We didn't even know you were here!"

Mike gave them a disapproving look. "Tina's orders."

"Your girlfriend is evil incarnate, depriving us of caffeine," muttered Kurt.

"Mercedes is in there too," said Sam.

"Whipped. The both of you," scoffed Rachel, crossing her arms.

Sam looked at Mike and they shared a grin and a high-five.

"Okay, give me your orders and I'll get you coffee," said Mike. "My treat because it's cold and we have to keep you out."

Kurt reached into his bag and pulled out a notepad and wrote them down.

"Thank you."

Mike nodded and walked back towards the shop. Sam stood in the way.

"Tell Mercedes I'm glad she's sticking to her decision," said Kurt with a wicked smile.

"What decision?" asked Sam. "Wait, about me? Kurt, what did she tell you?"

"Best friends tell no secrets," said Kurt with a smirk. "Rachel, run!"

Rachel took off, running towards the Lima Bean. Kurt had distracted Sam just enough that she had snuck around them. But it was too late, as both Mercedes and Tina had come out of the door with Mike and their coffee just as she got to the front door. She sighed and took the beverages from him.

"Thanks Mike."

Mercedes and Tina's hands were on her back, pushing her forward. Kurt sighed and took the offered beverage from Rachel.

"We honestly just wanted coffee," glowered Kurt, looking at Mercedes and Tina.

"I believe you," smiled Mercedes. "We came out here to ask if you two had a preference on where the wedding will be actually."

"Well," said Rachel. She looked at Kurt. He nodded.

"We appreciate Mr. Schuester's offer, but McKinley..."

"We thought so," broke in Tina. "We'll see what we can do. Don't be surprised though if you wind up still in the auditorium or the gym."

"Maybe we can find something," added in Sam.

"It's Lima at Christmas," said Kurt. "Everything's probably booked up I'd imagine. I'm surprised Principal Figgins hasn't booked McKinley for some charity events or AA holiday parties."

"Well, don't you two worry about it," said Mercedes. "Go on, go home. We'll take care of the details. Go do something fun."

"I was planning to spend time with you guys, since we hardly ever get to see each other," muttered Kurt. "Especially now that my secrets out of the well, bag..."

"Blame your secrets and your step-brother," said Tina with a smirk. "Besides, this is fun, holding something over your heads. You can plan mine and Mike's wedding for us."

"Done," said Kurt, holding up his hand. "I have ideas."

"I want to be a Ninja," said Mike.

"So you want to sneak into your own wedding?" laughed Rachel. "Surprise everyone?"

Tina sighed and shook her long black hair. "Images of _Kill Bill_ are going through my head."

Mike grinned. "Now we're talking. Theme wedding!"

"I think he just wants to see Tina in that yellow jumpsuit," commented Sam.

Mike gave Sam an evil look. Tina glared at Sam.

"You are not allowed to let Mike in your movie collection _ever_ again."

"Better you than me," chuckled Mercedes. "Kurt's been trying for years to have a _Princess and the Frog_ one."

"You'd be the perfect Tiana!" exclaimed Kurt. "Please?"

"And I'm taking away your Disney movies," sighed Rachel. "Last week you tried to convince me that the _Little Mermaid_ would be the perfect thing for my junior revue."

"You'd rock Ariel though," said Tina.

"Don't encourage him," said Rachel sternly. "I think he already has the sheet music and arrangements."

Kurt sniffed. "Just for future prospects."

"Kurt."

"At least we'd know who'd play your Eric," Mercedes smiled sweetly.

"Nah," said Rachel. "I can't have him falling in love with another woman. Although Santana would play the perfect Ursula."

"I'm telling her you said that," snorted Mercedes. "It still amazes me that you kept her quiet. What blackmail did you have on her?"

Kurt rubbed his ear. "It's not blackmail per se. Just an event that happened last year that shall go unspoken, because I also fear for my life if I talk about it."

Mercedes looked to Rachel. She shrugged.

"He won't even tell me, but I was there when he got a peculiar phone call at three in the morning. Kurt was still up studying and I was asleep. I closed my eyes after the phone rung and I didn't wake up till after seven and Santana was sitting in Kurt's jeans and a t-shirt in the kitchen having a cup of coffee."

"Wait, Kurt's clothes?" asked Mike.

"She wouldn't touch Rachel's wardrobe, and she made the joke that this would be the only time a girl would be in my pants."

"How little she knew," smirked Rachel.

"Rachel!" chuckled Mercedes, swatting at the girl lightly.

Rachel winked. "I have been in Kurt's pants. They're too big for me, but they sleep well."

"My yoga pants," sighed Kurt. He nudged her side.

"We'd better get going and let you two work," said Rachel. "Where's Finn?"

"At McKinley," said Sam. "He and Puck are doing something and Juliet is helping Quinn with flowers. They're—"

Mercedes stopped Sam from saying more by pinching his side.

"Ow!"

Tina shut her phone. "And they have been alerted that you are out and about. No peeking at the high school."

Kurt took a sip of his drink. "Spoilsport."

Tina smirked, looking all too smug.

"Come on, let's go to my house," said Rachel. She tugged on his arm and waved to the others. "Have fun. Do let us know when you're free and we can hang out for the sake of my husband's mental capacity."

Mercedes chuckled. "Will do. Miss you too Kurt."

He smiled and waved and followed Rachel to the truck. They got inside and drove off while Tina and Mercedes shared a mischievous grin.

"Are they officially gone?" said Quinn, poking her head out the door. Tina nodded.

"You are the best liar in the world Sam," she chuckled.

Juliet laughed as she walked out behind Quinn. "They are clueless, aren't they?"

"Completely and totally," said Mercedes, clapping her hands together. "Which makes it all the more fun."

"Let's just hope they don't try to sneak into McKinley and figure out there's nothing going on at the school."

"Are Carole and Burt still at the botanical gardens?" asked Tina.

Quinn frowned and checked her phone. "Think so. She hasn't called me back yet. We'd better get going ladies. We still have flowers to pick out, and the Berry's are handling the catering."

"Do you think we're going to pull this all off by the 27th? I mean, we still have Christmas with our families..."

"I think you can do it," said Juliet. "I mean, you're a team. You work well together."

"Yeah," said Tina. "We won Nationals, we can do this."

"I'm sorry we ruined your Christmas with your new soon to be family," said Quinn suddenly. "You came here to meet your future in-laws and you got roped into a wedding for your future brother in-law."

"And your fiancee's ex-fiancee," said Sam.

"Okay, it's just weird when you say it like that," laughed Mercedes.

Juliet laughed, pulling at her ponytail. "It's definitely an interesting situation... I'm not bored by any means. I can't wait to go home and tell my friends that I helped plan my future suddenly bisexual brother-in-law's wedding over the Christmas holidays."

"We're glad we are entertaining at least," said Mike with a bow. Juliet laughed.

"I love Finn, and I'm happy to help out. I mean, we'll have to invite you all to Georgia when we get married. I think Kurt and Rachel are lucky to have such good friends and understanding parents. I think my own Mom and Dad would kill me if I had gotten married without them knowing."

"I know mine would," said Mercedes, sneaking a look at Sam with a smile.

"Mine too," said Sam.

"Me three and four," said Tina, linking hands with Mike. "Our parents would definitely kill us."

Quinn smiled sadly. Mike took Quinn's arm. "Come on, let's go. It's cold out here."

* * *

Rachel opened the door to her home. "Dad? Daddy? They're not home," said the brown haired girl as she took her car keys of the key holder by the door.

"Maybe they're helping out with the wedding stuff or something?" said Kurt, looking in the kitchen.

"Daddy's probably at work," said Rachel. She was happy to see the Christmas tree this year. They usually didn't celebrate, but after hearing how much their darling daughter had come to appreciate the holiday, they made an attempt. It was cute.

"So we have your house to ourselves?"

"It would seem. It's Christmas Eve. You want to watch a movie?"

"For a little bit," said Kurt. "I promised Carole we'd do some baking." He frowned. "How are we going to work the holidays? I know you want to spend time with your Dads, and so do I, but..."

"Carole told me when you went to warm up the truck that Burt had already called Dad and invited them over for Christmas. I'll spend them morning with them and then we'll come over for lunch, and then you can come over for our traditional Chinese takeout dinner. Although with you and Carole cooking, there may not be a need for Chinese."

"We do make a good feast. We'll need it with Finn. I swear since joining the Army he eats for four now."

"Hope Juliet is a good cook," said Rachel, digging through her parents DVD's.

"_Chicago_ or _Moulin Rouge_?"

"How about we just talk for a while instead?" said Kurt. "We've been so busy."

Rachel nodded. "School has kept us preoccupied. And with both of our work too..." She laid her head on Kurt's chest and pulled closer. They could hear Christmas music from a neighbor's house, and Rachel hummed along. Kurt smiled and ran his fingers through Rachel's hair.

"I've missed this," said the brown haired girl. "Remember when we'd just talk for hours on end on the floor of the apartment?"

"When we didn't have any furniture?"

"Exactly."

"Not much else to do," chuckled Kurt. "We had our cellphones and clothes and air mattresses."

"I still can't believe you sold your baby. But at least we got furniture."

"I miss my vehicle," sighed Kurt. "But it would have been stripped within a week in New York." Rachel was inclined to agree. Kurt's Escalade had been a beauty, and an automatic target for thieves.

"Once we finish school, where do you want to live Kurt?"

"You know, out of everything, I admit I haven't given it much thought," he said, wrinkling his nose. "I mean, I suppose we have options—"

"Tiny options you mean."

"Well, it is just us," said Kurt. "We don't need that much space. And we could be in Manhattan..."

"What about the future?" said Rachel. She took Kurt's hand and grazed it across her abdomen. "Once we're settled into our careers of course, and stable..."

He kissed Rachel's forehead. "How about we make it onto Broadway first? You at least. I want to design your gown when you win your first Tony."

"I want you there too, my own Tony award winning husband."

"Maybe I'll win a Pulitzer instead."

"Kurt, are you reconsidering Broadway?" said Rachel.

"No. No," he sighed. "I think I like too many things. I like fashion, I like to write. I love performing. Don't get me wrong, doing Broadway is my dream. But there are other things too, you know?"

Rachel smiled. "And Isabelle keeps you busy."

"That she does," muttered Kurt. "But I wouldn't change a thing. I love _Vogue_."

"And I," said Rachel. "Love you." She hooked her fingers around Kurt's collar. "We have an empty house, and there's an empty bed in my room. I think it demands our attention."

"I think I'm inclined to agree," he said. Rachel took his hand and headed up the stairs.

* * *

It was late afternoon when Kurt returned home to the Hummel-Hudson household, humming under his breath as he opened the front door. He went into the kitchen looking for Carole, but she wasn't there. He saw her recipes laid out, and went searching for her.

"Carole?" he called upstairs as he went up them.

Finn came down. "Oh hey, Mom's gone to the store. She took Juliet with her. We were out of bread or flour or something."

"Oh," said Kurt. "I should have called. I could have picked it up for her."

"Where have you been anyways? Mom was looking for you."

"Oh I was at Rachel's. We hung out for a while, had lunch at the Thai restaurant. How is Juliet liking Lima so far?"

"I think she's enjoying it," smiled Finn. "She seems to really like our friends. Quinn had taken her under her wing, which is weird, but..."

"Quinn's trying to make her feel welcome," said Kurt with a half-smile. "She's good at that."

"Would you help me the day after tomorrow?" asked Finn. "Keep Juliet company while we do things? I hate for her to work the whole vacation."

"Sure," said Kurt. He started to pull out the pots to start the chocolate sauce for the sliced fruit that they had prepped that morning for snacks. Although Kurt could think of other things to do, hanging out with Juliet wouldn't be so bad. He probably should have asked Rachel first, though she wouldn't mind.

"Cool, thanks bro. I just feel bad that she's here to have family time with me and I'm busy doing this."

"I think she'll be okay Finn," said Kurt as he sat down the pans on the stove. "She's enjoying herself isn't she?"

"Yeah," said Finn with a smile. "She is. She likes everyone so far. She's a little scared of Santana, but who isn't?"

"I'd be more worried if she wasn't," replied Kurt. He pulled out the chocolate nibs and poured them into the double boiler on the stove along with the other ingredients to melt.

"Do you really love Rachel?" asked Finn.

Kurt couldn't believe Finn was asking this. He leaned his head back with a sigh.

"I do Finn. More than anything."

"Why all the sudden?" Kurt could almost feel Finn shifting uncomfortably behind him. He had Finn almost down to a science now. This was Sometimes-I-think-I'm-still-in-love-with-Rachel-Be rry-Finn. It was really weird how the triangle of their relationship worked out in the end. Or was it a square? Hexagon? Something.

"It wasn't all the sudden," said Kurt. "It's been a year and a half Finn. And Rachel and I... we just clicked, It was that simple. It wasn't over-dramatic, filled with heartache and tears. Well, a few tears and more than a little heartache. It did take us some time to accept what was going on. Brittany and Santana didn't help much either."

"Why? I mean, the acceptance part."

"Because I like boys Finn, and I was hopelessly in love with Blaine Anderson for a long time, even after he set me free to pursue my dreams." Kurt sighed. "I loved Blaine. I still do in some ways. But Rachel for all her craziness and dramatics filled a hole I didn't know was there. I don't think I was meant to see her that way till I just absolutely needed her."

"So it's... like destiny or something?" said Finn with a furrowed brow. He was trying to think too much. Kurt stirred the chocolate, keeping it on low.

"Something like that," he said. "I didn't make up her mind for her or anything, if that's what you're wondering."

"No, I—" Fine sighed. "I'm sorry Kurt. Rachel is my friend too you know. I guess I still worry about her."

"Well, she could still use a friend," the shorter boy smiled. "And I could use a glass of wine. Is there any of that mulled wine still in the fridge that I brought back from Rachel's?"

"That stuff that looked like grape juice with weird stuff floating in it? I think so," said Finn, opening the fridge. He pulled out a container and handed it to Kurt. The countertenor tossed Finn an orange.

"Cut that for me will you?"

Kurt poured the mulled wine into a pot and put it on to warm while Finn sliced the orange. A few moments later, they heard laughter outside as Juliet walked in with a couple of bags. Carole was shutting the door behind them.

"Oh Kurt, you're home. I was wondering if we were going to get any baking done," said Carole. She took off her hat and hung it on the rack by the door. She kissed Finn on the cheek. Finn handed the orange slices to Kurt who put them in the wine to add a bit of extra flavor.

"You started the chocolate for the sliced fruit. Wonderful," she said to Kurt. "Thank you." He nodded while Carole helped Juliet put away things in the fridge. Finn grabbed Juliet around the waist and hugged her to him.

"So what do you guys want for dinner?" said Carole brightly. "Anything you'd like?"

"Why don't we just order in?" said Finn. "We've all had a long day, tracking down things. And you and Burt have been running around—"

"Finn!" said Juliet. She pointed to Kurt, who was stirring the chocolate sauce.

"Oh don't mind me," said Kurt. "Feel free to talk, discuss colors, flowers, details. I'd like to hear more about this dress of Rachel's. I'd assume you've seen it Juliet?"

"Nope," she said with a smile. "Though Mrs. Hum— er, Carole has."

"Traitor," said Carole. Juliet giggled.

"Sorry Kurt, no can speak-y," said Finn. Kurt sighed.

"How does spaghetti sound? I saw basil and tomatoes in the fridge. I can whip up a quick margherita pasta."

"Sounds good," said Carole. "I'll start pouring up the chocolate so we can reheat it later as well."

Kurt nodded his thanks as Carole filled a pasta pot with water.

"That mulled wine smells lovely. It really does make the house smell like Christmas."

"It does," agreed Kurt. Carole put the pot on the stove and set the water to boil. She pulled out a ladle and two glasses. Juliet and Finn had already wandered away into the living room.

Kurt took a glass with a nod as Carole put the chocolate dipping sauce into a decorative bowl and covered it. He sipped on the wine, enjoying the clove and spices in the drink.

"What time is Rachel coming back over?"

Kurt looked at the clock on the wall. "In about 30 minutes. She's going to spend the night at home with her Dads and have breakfast and Christmas with them. Then she'll come over for lunch, and I'll go back over there for dinner."

"Juggling two families is complicated, isn't it?"

"More so since it wasn't in our immediate plans," sighed Kurt. "I really would like to kick Coach Sylvester. She put a big monkey wrench in our carefully laid out plan of attack."

"I don't know, I think the backfire may have done you more good," said Carole, taking a drink of the mulled wine. "No lies, no secrets. Though I have to say Kurt, Burt is disappointed in you. I know you think sometimes you have to protect your Dad from yourself, but you just need to be you. He's proud of you, no matter what you do."

Kurt went quiet. "Do you think— I mean…"

"No," said Carole. "I don't."

Kurt shredded the basil and Carole handed him the cherry tomatoes. They heard a key in the door and Burt Hummel came walking through. He lit up when he saw Kurt at the stove.

"My son is cooking dinner. It's been a while," said Burt as he kissed Carole on the cheek.

"I was just home during the summer Dad," said Kurt with a smile.

"Still, it's December Kurt."

He smiled sadly. "I know." He hugged Burt.

"I'll try to get home more often when school finally sets me free."

"And bring your wife," said Burt with a smile. "Wow, I'll never get used to saying that."

Kurt laughed. "If I can pull her off Broadway you mean."

"Have either of you heard much from your casting calls?" asked Carole.

"Not yet, but it's still early. People are considered lucky if they can get understudies or minor roles in their senior year."

"You'll get it," said Burt. "I have faith in you. You'll kick ass on Broadway."

Kurt gave his Dad a big smile. "Thanks." Burt patted his son's shoulder and walked off into the living room. Carole dropped the angel hair pasta while the brown haired countertenor pulled the cheese out of the fridge and found the grater. Burt came back in and grabbed a couple of beers and went back into the living room with Juliet and Finn.

"Does Juliet drink beer?" asked Kurt. Carole nodded.

"I think we're the only wine drinkers in the house," said Carole. "At least, until Rachel gets here."

Kurt sipped more on his wine as Carole made toast. Juliet had joined them in the kitchen and was prepping for a salad when a knock came at the door. The former football kicker went to open it and Rachel took off her hat and scarf as she walked in after giving him a smile. Kurt squeezed her hand and kissed her cheek as she looked around.

"Rachel, we're having pasta for dinner," said Carole. "Come on in and join us."

"You've been drinking," said Rachel, noticing Kurt's flushed appearance.

"Just a little," he said with a smile. He did feel quite giddy for just two full glasses. But then, he thought the wine was only adding to the sense of calm that had settled over him.

"I think I need some," said Rachel with a chuckle. "You seem happy."

"I think I am," he said softly. "It's Christmas."

"Hmm… just wait till we get back home and next semester starts. I know for a fact that you have an audition on the 30th, once we get back."

Kurt groaned. "You would remember that."

Rachel smiled and went and took a seat at the dining table. Everyone was gathering food and bringing it in. Salad, the pasta, bread with butter, glasses, tea, and the wine. Kurt handed Rachel a bottle of water and sat down beside her. Finn sat down across from Kurt, giving Rachel a thumbs up. She smiled back at him and Burt and Carole sat down.

"Dig in," said Burt with a smile. "It's good to have all our family together, even our new additions."

Juliet and Rachel shared a smile as Finn picked up the bread basket and accidentally dumped it all over himself with a yelp. Kurt sighed and helped Finn picked up what could be salvaged. It was going to be one of those evenings. At least it hadn't been dessert. Kurt would have killed him if he had dumped the Christmas cake he spied at Carole's elbow.

* * *

After dinner had gone better than expected, Kurt left Rachel talking to Finn and Juliet. He found his Dad on the back porch of the house, nursing a beer.

"Dad?"

"Hey Kurt," said Burt. "Figured you'd be helping Carole clean up."

Kurt pulled his jacket closer around him and looked at the bright night sky with his father. He still felt warm from the wine, but it was really cold outside.

"I'm sorry I disappointed you."

"Kurt, you know you can never disappoint me in the end," scoffed Burt. "_Really_. You're fulfilling your dreams, doing what you want to do. Once upon a time I did have dreams of what my son's life would be like, but I realize now it was foolishness because you are your own person. I could have never picture the perfect image because there isn't one. You are writing your own story Kurt, not me."

"Sometimes I do feel like I let you down too much," sighed Kurt.

"Don't worry, I did the same to my own Dad," said Burt. "I thought he wanted an football playing son with a Varsity jacket, a girl on his arm, and popular. Turned out he wanted a kid with good grades and the sensibility to make something of himself outside of Lima. Turns out he got a son who blew out his knee in junior varsity and took odd jobs, cutting classes, finally dropping out in his sophomore year. I started working in garages because I liked cars. Now I own the best tire shop in Lima. And he was never prouder."

"Grandpa?" mused Kurt. "He wanted you to be smart and move out of Lima?"

"Like my brother," said Burt. "He wanted me to make something of myself. Something he never did. Sounds familiar eh?"

"I wish I could have gotten to know him," said Kurt.

"He would have spoiled you rotten," said Burt with a smile. "Your grandmother certainly did. She loved her proper gentleman grandson. Said you were a rare breed. She never knew how right she was."

"I miss her cooking," said Kurt. "She and Mom always baked together. The kitchen used to smell so amazing afterwards."

"I sometimes think your Mother is still here," Burt said with a laugh. "When you cook. I'll come into the kitchen and it just smells like her. You two even stir the same, inside to the outside, always in a corkscrew."

"Guess I watched her too much," said Kurt with a smile.

"Oh believe me, when you were first born, she'd try to sneak away and you'd wake up crying. She finally just put your cradle in the kitchen and you'd calm down and sleep while she baked. You were practically raised on the smell of baking bread and pound cakes."

"Must be why I like to bake when I'm stressed," muttered Kurt.

"Probably," chuckled Burt, taking a swig of beer.

"Mr. Hummel, have you seen Kurt?" said Rachel, coming out the back door. "I was— oh hi," she said with a smile, grabbing a hold of Kurt's arm. "Can I borrow him for a moment? I need to go, and I was going to—"

"Nah," said Burt. "Take him home with you Rachel. He won't sleep otherwise. I know my kid."

"But— Christmas?"

"He can come back home before breakfast," said Burt. "We usually make pancakes, and I know for a fact that he cannot resist Carole's."

"It's true," said Kurt. "She has a secret I just can't figure out. Plus, she and I have cooking and baking to do before lunch."

"So yeah, take him home," said Burt. "So he'll sleep."

"You'll have to drive," said Kurt. "I am too entirely out of it."

"I'm going to have to tell Daddy to cut down on the Port," laughed Rachel. "You are well inebriated."

"I am happily tipsy," he frowned. "Maybe one too many glasses."

"Better than when Santana took you out for your birthday."

"We do not speak of that night."

Burt crossed his arms. "Now this is a story I haven't heard."

"It is quite a funny tale," said Rachel. "His boss at _Vogue _took him out for martinis and he came back to the apartment slightly tipsy. Santana decided that it wasn't enough for him to have such a 'sissy' drink so she took him out to her favorite bar and she got him to try shots. Needless to say, Brittany and I had to bring them back home."

"Hard liquor is not Santana's friend," muttered Kurt.

"So who had the sense to call you two?" said Burt, smiling sadly.

"Actually, neither of them," said Rachel. "Brittany has this amazing ability to know when Santana is well, being Santana. She automatically knew where she was and nobody even bothered to question when Brittany breezed through and picked Santana off the bar stool. She is both smarter and stronger than she looks."

Kurt started shaking his head. "We really didn't need to tell my Dad that story Rachel."

"No, you did," said Burt. "It's a side of you I don't get to see much," said the older man. "You having fun and living Kurt. You plan your life so much it's nice to see you doing something spontaneous. Even if Rachel had to drag you back drunk to the apartment."

Rachel laughed and waved it off. "It is definitely a memory I'll hold on to for a long time."

"Treasure those," said Burt. "It's the little things you remember, never the big things. I know both of you want to have that big role on Broadway, but it's things like those friends of yours that will matter in the end." Burt chuckled. "And each other. Those memories will be something you'll always take with you."

Kurt kissed Rachel's hand and she nodded. "I'll go get our things."

The brown haired countertenor hugged Burt. "Thanks Dad."

"No more mulled wine for the night, okay kiddo?"

"No, definitely not," said Kurt with a smile. "See you in the morning."

Burt nodded and Kurt went back inside.

"How you gain and lose a son at the same time, I'll never know." He took another swig of his beer and decided such questions were best left to philosophers, not some car guy in Lima, Ohio on Christmas Eve.


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning, Kurt found himself being woken up by a fingertip running across his lips. He smiled at the sensations. This was Rachel's favorite means of getting him awake when she wanted him to be up. He kissed the pad of her finger and opened his eyes. He was glad he had taken care the night before, and was not having much in the way of hangover symptoms. He always hated the groggy, headachy waking up afterwards. And Rachel in all her tousled bed hair cuteness, was laying on top of him.

"I do hope you've got good reasoning to wake me up when it's barely light outside," he said softly. The fact that the sun was only starting to rise was not lost on him.

"Merry Christmas," said Rachel. She brought her lips to his and he kissed back. His lips were slightly dry compared to hers.

"I think I need some lip balm," he said after a moment. Rachel licked her own lips before doing the same thing to Kurt's in a kiss.

"I think we can make do."

"Eww, girl cooties," chuckled Kurt. He rubbed his hands down Rachel's toned shoulders and hips.

"I'm sorry Kurt, but you have a rather large infection of them I'm afraid. You've spent most of your life around girls. There's nothing that can be done."

"You're playing doctor now I see."

"I could forgo the physical exam and tell you your diagnosis, but that's the best part."

"You just want to see me naked."

Rachel laughed. "Who wouldn't? My sexy and gorgeous best friend and soul mate." She ran a hand through his hair as they kissed again. Kurt sat up and pushed up her nightgown over her head, chuckling that she was not wearing anything underneath.

"I didn't realize that doctors wore so little under their scrubs."

Rachel giggled and pushed him back down on the bed. She reached for a bag on her side table, squealing as Kurt turned them both over, separating her thighs and rubbing her darkening sex with his fingers. She moaned softly in their kisses, halfway tempted just to let go, but she was not ready for even a remote chance of anything happening. Broadway was still waiting.

"Protection now," she said, biting his bottom lip. "Before you drive me insane with those perfectly manicured hands of yours."

Kurt smirked and reached for the side table.

* * *

The sun was shining brightly when Rachel dropped Kurt back off at his house. No one seemed to be up yet as he closed the door softly. Juliet however was sitting in the kitchen, nursing a cup of coffee.

"Hi," she said with a smile. "Don't mind me. I'm usually up at the crack of dawn. Once I'm awake, I'm awake, especially with Finn's snoring."

"I don't see how anyone could sleep through that," commented Kurt as he took off his jacket. He was smiling as he took off his scarf.

"I see someone's been busy this morning," commented Juliet over her coffee mug.

Kurt looked confused. "Well, I did shower—"

Juliet laughed. "You are adorable. Love wears you well Kurt even if you had to get up at four in the morning to get it."

Kurt's ears turned pink as he sat down across from her with a mug of his own. Juliet pushed on her glasses with a smile. "Finn's not exactly my first boyfriend. I do know all the games."

"How old are you Juliet?"

"Twenty-five."

"I didn't realize that."

"Yeah, Mrs. Hummel, er Carole wasn't exactly pleased. But I did say that while Finn is definitely not my first boyfriend, he will certainly be my last." She sighed happily. "He's such a cute puppy dog. I just have to get him trained."

Kurt snorted into his coffee.

"I'm guessing that's not the first time you've heard that turn of phrase for your step-brother."

The brown haired boy laughed and took a napkin off the holder on top of the microwave.

"More than a few times, yes."

"He is adorable, but he's so... trusting..."

"That he is," said Kurt with a nod. "He has been used more than a few times."

"So I've heard."

"You'll be a good influence on him I think," said Kurt. "He needs someone to guide him a little. He doesn't know the right path sometimes."

"You mean a lot."

"Your words, not mine."

Juliet laughed. Kurt was amused at how well adjusted she seemed to everything.

"I think you'll fit into the family just nicely," said Kurt. He lifted his mug to Juliet.

"I had a question for you actually," said Juliet. "Not that I'm insecure or anything... but I've seen the way Rachel looks at Finn. And sometimes Finn gets that faraway look in his eye when he looks at Quinn..."

Kurt sighed.

"Finn was Rachel's first love," said Kurt. "Finn's second. Both Rachel and Quinn thought they'd be together forever with Finn. Quinn because she thought she'd never leave Lima... that they'd both be stuck here, so they might as well be together. Rachel because she thought Finn was the only boy who'd ever make her feel special."

"Which is neither the case now."

"No," said Kurt. "Quinn's at Yale having the time of her life, and Rachel dated after breaking up with Finn and found out that other men did think she was special. The makeover probably helped too. She was a vixen once we got her out of those animal sweaters."

Juliet smirked. "Was this makeover before or after you two started seeing each other?"

"Before, waaaaaay before," said Kurt with a sigh. "I was still dating Blaine, or at least I thought we were. Things kind of changed after I moved to New York."

Juliet frowned. "It happens sometimes. You grow apart. You grew into Rachel."

"Yeah, that was definitely not in my plans," laughed Kurt, sipping his coffee. "Rachel was my best friend. Still is, really. We tell each other everything, do everything together..."

"Finish each other's sentences," smirked Juliet.

"She's the other half of my brain," said Kurt with a small smile. "We could be twins."

You two are cute," nodded Juliet. "Time and a change of scenery may have been all you needed to see the world differently."

Kurt nodded. "If we had never left Lima, she'd be married to Finn, and I'd be living with Blaine."

"And I would still be in Alabama with my parents, being bored out of my mind instead of sitting in a kitchen in Ohio, talking to my future brother in law," chuckled Juliet. "How easily the simple choices can change you."

"Ironically," agreed Kurt. "One second decision to kiss Rachel Berry definitely changed the course of my future."

Juliet laughed. "Enjoy it. Everyone deserves happiness."

"Well, I need to start baking," said Kurt standing. "Want to help? Carole will be down soon to start on Christmas breakfast."

"Ah, the infamous pancakes."

"I could definitely use them," commented Kurt. "It's going to be a long morning of cooking." He looked at Carole's recipes sitting on the cabinet. He reached for the sugar and flour. Juliet handed him the measuring cups from the dish drainer.

"Especially with your other extracurricular activities. Sex is a workout."

Kurt blushed hard. Juliet laughed.

"You are adorable. Are you sure you're married?"

"Quite happily, yes."

Juliet laughed and bumped his shoulder as she reached into the fridge and handed him the eggs. "Sorry for embarrassing you."

Kurt sighed. "I should be used to it. I am friends with Brittany and Santana."

* * *

By the time Carole came down the stairs to cook breakfast, she heard a squeal and more than a few giggles. When she got into the kitchen, she laughed at the sight before her. Kurt and Juliet were eating cookies at the breakfast bar. He had already finished off a couple of pies, put the ham in the oven to bake, and had the stuffing ready to be cooked in the fridge. Juliet and Kurt both looked eagerly at Carole.

"Pancakes please, we're starving."

"I can tell," she said, her eyes looking over the slightly messy but organized kitchen. There was a pile of Christmas cookies all ready for eating under a glass cake plate.

"You two have been busy, haven't you?"

"A bit," replied Juliet. "Come on Kurt, we can watch the Disney Parade while waiting on breakfast."

"I still can't believe you were a character actor."

"Ugh, it was hot and sweaty. But the kids Kurt, the kids…"

Carole watched them walk off in wonder as she poured herself a cup of coffee. She shook her head as Burt came downstairs.

"You've been busy this morning," said Burt, giving his wife a kiss.

"Not me," said Carole, taking a sip of her coffee before adding sugar. "Juliet and Kurt. They were laughing and cutting up as I came downstairs."

"That didn't take long," chuckled Burt. "Poor Finn won't know what hit him when he gets up in an hour."

Carole laughed at the thought and pulled out some sausage to go along with her pancakes.

* * *

After pancakes and presents, Kurt went back into the kitchen to help Carole finish off the rest of lunch.

"Thank you for the suit, it will be gorgeous to wear out on special occasions," said Carole with a smile.

"Well, Rachel and I wanted to do something nice for everyone. She arranged budgets, I got to go shopping."

"I'll have to say thank you when her and her Dads get here for lunch," said Carole. "I feel bad we don't have her anything, but the money we gave you and Finn for Christmas is supposed to go on his wedding, and for you and Rachel a better apartment in New York once school was finished. But I guess we will be spending yours a little early."

"It'll be okay," said Kurt. "Rachel and I will manage."

"You two have certainly been handling being married so far," commented Carole. "No frantic calls to home."

"Trying," said Kurt. "The hardest thing is having to take responsibility for each other. Like bills, insurance... texting each other when we're running late... remembering that someone else might like a taco as well when grabbing a late dinner. Worse is the combined budgets. I can't hide chocolate or the actual cost of my fashion magazine subscriptions anymore."

Carole laughed. "It is hard to change your habits."

Kurt sighed and nodded. "Does it get easier? Combining your lives, I mean."

"As long as you don't have many secrets, yes. At least you don't have to combine households or apartments or kids. You two have grown together while in New York."

The countertenor nodded and continued cutting on the sweet potatoes for the casserole. There was a knock on the front door and he heard Finn say "I'll get it!" as he jogged past them to get to the door. Kurt smiled when he saw Rachel's beret under Finn's shoulder. Finn gave her a hug, then went back to the living room with Juliet and Burt.

"I'm a little early," she admitted. "I wanted to see if I can help?"

"Always," said Carole. Rachel went back out to her car and brought back in a couple of dishes.

"Daddy made his favorite sweet and sour cabbage soup, which was a surprise. And I helped make up some potato and chive latkes," said Rachel with a smile. "I went ahead and brought them over since they were ready."

Kurt peeked into the oven. "I think the soufflé is just about done."

"Good," said Carole. She hugged Rachel. "And that sounds wonderful, thank you. You and your Dads didn't have to do a thing. We invited you over for dinner."

"Well, I'm taking Kurt afterwards," said Rachel. "So I guess it's a trade-off."

"I knew one of these days I'd be bartered for food," sighed Kurt as he sat down on one of the bar stools in the kitchen. "I expected it'd be Finn and not you Rachel. And I'd be traded for pizza."

"Well, I've got to give your family something in return for you sweetie," chuckled Rachel as she rubbed his back. "I don't exactly have cows or goats to propose marriage with."

"So I'm only worth fried potatoes and cabbage," sniffed Kurt. "I see how it is."

"Life of marrying a vegan."

"Burt, you'd better get in here," laughed Carole. "Rachel's asking for Kurt's hand by offering food."

"Is it good food?" yelled Finn. "Then we say yes."

Rachel snorted and buried her head in Kurt's shoulder.

"See? Pizza."

Rachel wiped her eyes. "Oh god, Finn."

"Your ex-fiancee."

"Your step-brother."

Burt came into the kitchen. "Now what's this about proposing marriage?"

Rachel and Kurt both started laughing hysterically.

* * *

Lunch at the Hudson-Hummel household was a smashing success, and Hiram and Leroy offered to stay and help Carole clean up. Even Rachel had even managed to stuff herself. She and Kurt both lay on his bed upstairs, moaning the lack of breathing room in their clothes.

"Now I see why you always wanted to take a nap after Christmas lunch," said Rachel with a whimper from somewhere in his pillow. "Do you even remember how many plates you ate?'

"No, and it's best not to count," said Kurt, groaning as he moved around to get comfortable. "You'll only make yourself depressed."

Rachel rolled over on her back and looked up at the ceiling.

"Is this what it's like to be pregnant?"

"Don't even joke about that," he sighed. "Because then I'm having a sympathy pregnancy alongside you."

Rachel moved onto her side to look at Kurt, who was still on his back.

"You'd be cute pregnant."

"Very funny."

Rachel laid back down on her stomach.

"We need to treat Brittany and Santana to dinner one night when we get back to New York."

"I suppose we should, although by now I'm sure Santana and Brittany both have told enough embarrassing stories about us that we won't be able to look our friends in the face for a long while."

"That might be a little hard, considering we do have a wedding in two days."

"There still is that, isn't there?"

"Yes, and eating gigantic meals is not going to get us into our new clothes."

Kurt put a pillow over his head and screamed into it.

"I feel like we should be doing something to help them. Somehow."

"They've made it pretty clear they don't want our help Kurt. We started a relationship and got married without them, so they're punishing us by planning a wedding without our input."

"I know," he sighed. He gave Rachel a half-smile. "We can give them headaches at least."

Rachel chuckled and laid her head on Kurt's shoulder. "Maybe we should leave them alone. That is a lot to do in two days."

"But what fun would that be?"

"Kurt."

"You know me, I can't stand secrets."

"You are quite terrible at that, yes." Rachel whined and rubbed her stomach.

"Come on, let's go for a walk. So I can at least feel like I did something to work off that gigantic feast."

Across town, Mercedes got a late text from Finn that made her chuckle. She turned around after grabbing a brownie from her brother and texted Tina.

_The bait has been set. Operation Red Slippers is a go._


	10. Chapter 10

The next day, Kurt had gone back home to spend some time with his Dad. But it was becoming increasingly obvious that he was just being humored by his family during breakfast as they kept checking the time. He sighed loudly.

"Go on, I know you're busy."

"Sorry Kurt," said Finn apologetically. "But we are on a bit of a tight schedule."

His Dad just shrugged and smiled. He kissed Kurt on top of the head. The countertenor grumbled.

"It'll be worth it, you'll see," said Burt.

Carole, Burt, and Finn then left together, leaving Kurt and Juliet sitting at the kitchen table. Juliet was drinking coffee and discussing dresses with Kurt when Rachel let herself in.

"Juliet! Hi," said Rachel, taking off her scarf. She hung her jacket over the top of it and came up beside Kurt, kissing him on the cheek.

The red headed girl chuckled. "It's alright, you can kiss him more if you want."

"I'd love to, but we need to hurry if we're going to do what we're going to do first Kurt."

Juliet raised an eyebrow. "And what would that be?"

Kurt winced and opened one eye. "Sneaking into McKinley?"

Juliet laughed. "Of course." She took a sip of her coffee.

"You mean, you approve?"

"Kurt," said Juliet. "It's your wedding and your friends. I'd freak out too if they tried to spring this on me."

"Then you'll help us?"

"Of course."

Rachel clapped her hands. "Perfect. We have an armored body guard. They wouldn't kill Juliet. Then we can offer our services, and—"

"But_ my_ services come at a price. I need help," she admitted. "I didn't exactly bring um, wedding appropriate clothes."

"I told her we could go shopping," said Kurt. "That's not a problem. With Juliet's coloring she can pull off most anything."

Juliet sighed. "Hopefully you can help me find something in black and white. Oh wait. The guys are in black and white. The girls are in pink and gre… Oh crap."

Kurt's eye twitched. "Pink and green?"

Juliet banged her head on the table.

"Sorry."

"Don't be sorry," said Rachel, sliding into a seat beside her. "I can understand black and white because uh, _most_ of the guys will be wearing tuxedos. But pink and green doesn't match…" She looked back at Kurt, who was giving her a strange look with one hand on his hip. "You know."

"Yeah," said Juliet, stealing a glance at the door, like she was afraid Finn was going to walk in any minute. "They're not going to use those."

Rachel squealed, and put a hand over her mouth.

"Well, that... explains some things."

Kurt muttered and put his head on his arms on his lap.

"So what are we going to wear?"

"I... I couldn't tell you," said Juliet. "Quinn and Mercedes are holding that information hostage."

Rachel frowned, looking back at Kurt. She turned and smiled at Juliet.

"Well, thank you for what knowledge you have given us. Anything else that you'd like to speak now or forever hold your peace?"

Juliet bit her lip. She glanced at the door.

"It's... it's a theme wedding."

Rachel blinked a couple of times, letting the knowledge soak in.

"Okay, theme wedding. I guess… I guess I can see that." Rachel refused to look backwards because she already could feel Kurt panicking behind her. She patted his knee reassuringly.

"What theme?" asked Kurt hesitantly.

Juliet dropped her head. "If I say anymore, I'm pretty sure Quinn would show up and kick my ass. But I will give you a hint. It's something the club remembers the most about you two. And your trip to the Show Choir Nationals in New York."

Rachel turned around and looked at Kurt when she heard him scream into his scarf. He was holding the cream and light blue garment over his face.

"I know what it is. And lord help me, I'm going to kick Mercedes."

"What do you mean?" asked Rachel, confused.

"Think Rachel. What does the club remember us most for? The diva-off. Our trip to New York? We snuck off and went to the Gershwin theatre. Pink and green?"

Rachel gasped loudly, shock registering across her face.

"You've got to be kidding me. Kurt..."

"Oh yeah," said Kurt sarcastically. "They're doing _Wicked_."

Rachel scoffed. "There's no way. They wouldn't do that, would they? I mean, how…"

"Wouldn't they?" said Kurt, crossing his arms. "I'm sure most wedding supply and such are all sourced out for the holidays, but costume and prop places probably are not. And there are a couple of good ones in Cleveland. You know the decorations we got for Coach Sylvester's sister's funeral?"

"Oh god," said Rachel, putting her hand over her mouth as she thought about it. "You're right Kurt. Why hadn't we thought of that? We..."

"Yeah," said Kurt with a sigh. He readjusted his scarf over the fuzzy light blue sweater he wore. The v-neck was low enough that she could see the cream colored long sleeved pinstripe dress shirt and his necklace shining underneath. She reached over and tugged lightly on the chain so she could see Kurt's rings. He smiled at his wife, a thought passing between them.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"It's too obvious."

"It is."

Juliet's eyes went wide when they turned on her.

"Nice try."

"Nice try what?"

"We know our friends," said Rachel, crossing her arms. "They know literally next to nothing about _Wicked_. They'd need help if they were doing a _Wicked_ theme. And it begs the question... who would be helping them if it was true?"

"That's not entirely true," said Kurt. "Quinn AND Tina saw it when it was touring—"

Rachel held up a finger. "Don't ruin my logic."

Juliet sighed. "Yes, I am fond of it. I own the novels, saw the musical about four times, and love Baum's original works. Finn and mine's first date was to see _The Great and Powerful Oz_. Happy?"

"Much," grinned Rachel. "I knew I liked you."

"Then you can marry her," said Kurt, getting off the kitchen stool he was sitting on and going over to Juliet. "I approve. She's cute."

"I think Finn might disapprove."

"Eh, he'll live."

"So, dress shopping?" stated Juliet, trying to change subjects.

"I"m thinking emerald green," said Kurt, rubbing his chin and pondering.

"Speaking of which," said Rachel, turning on her husband. "IF they were doing a _Wicked_ theme, who would we be?"

"Who else?" said Kurt with a shrug. "Elphaba and Fiyero."

Rachel frowned. "I do hope I won't be dressed in black."

"Hello? Scarecrow?"

"Straw is itchy," giggled Rachel. "And I like your brain the perfect shape it's in."

"Alright, let's go," laughed Kurt. "We're over thinking things Rachel. There's no way they'd ever be able to pull _that_ off for a wedding in three days. We'll go help Juliet pick out a dress and then later we'll see that they're doing something completely normal."

"You hope."

Kurt ignored the statement and pulled on his white overcoat before moving to help Rachel with hers. She adjusted his collar with a smile.

"You would be a cute Fiyero."

"At least in the end, we run away together."

Rachel laughed. "We did make it out of Oz." She took Kurt's hand and they walked out of the house. Neither one of them noticed Juliet texting.

_They really are scary observant. Back on track. Will keep you posted. - J_

* * *

Quinn felt her phone vibrate and she took it out and read the message. She gave a thumbs up to Mercedes as she picked up a can of paint to move it out of the way. While it was true they had abandoned McKinley for the actual wedding, they still needed it to work on things. They just had to work cleanly and orderly or Figgins would have all their heads, or at least their wallets. She dialed Santana, who was at their new location.

"Yo Q, what's up?"

"Plan is a go."

"So why are you calling me instead of Finn? By the way, where do you want all this sheer grey fabric? Because there's a fuck ton of this stuff."

"It wraps around the archway and a couple of other things. Did Mike get the fairy lights for me?"

"Little gold twinkling lights?"

"That would be them, yes."

"There's a crap load of boxes, so yeah."

"Good," said Quinn, moving the phone to her other ear. "I can start working on that once we finish here."

"What are all the lights and everything for anyways?"

Quinn smiled. "You'll see. You and Brittany and Mercedes are helping me."

"You're really getting into this, aren't you?"

The blonde haired girl smiled and admired her work. "What can I say? I'm a sucker for happy endings."

Santana scoffed and hung up.

"Looks great Quinn," said Sam as he came up beside her. "I would have never thought of doing fake apples like that."

Quinn picked up one that had already dried. It glimmered softly with the silver glitter covering the surface. The scrolls of paper to attach to their sides were ready to write the names of the guests.

"They're placeholders," said Quinn with a smile. She looked over to Tina, who was practicing her calligraphy on a "KRH" on the side of a book. Written on the front was "Our Fairy Tale."

"They'll never know what hit them," said the Asian girl with a smirk.

"Exactly," laughed Quinn. "It's a challenge, but I think we're going to make it."

Sam grinned. "Of course, we're a team. But don't you think Finn should be here helping with all the grunt work? I mean this is all his fault for suggesting it."

"Yes it is," said Tina, laying down the book. "But I get to practice calligraphy, so it's not such a bad thing."

"You're really good at it," said Quinn in approval. "You know, we could start our own wedding planning business."

"Ugh, but Bridezillas?" said Tina, wrinkling her nose. Quinn laughed.

"Alright, who ordered like a bazillion candles?" asked Puck with a huff. "There's like 30 boxes on the back of my truck."

"Perfect," said Quinn. "We can get the luminaries set up along with aisle runner. That'd be one thing down." She wiped her hands on a towel. "I still have to do the petals."

"I think Sugar's doing those actually," said Tina. "She had a big box of glitter and the petals and went outside."

"Good," said Quinn, nodding.

"Okay, can I just get everyone to stop and think a moment. We're planning a fairy tale wedding for Rachel. With _Kurt_. The Hobbit and Ladyface. I mean really," said Santana, coming up beside them.

Everybody shrugged.

"I mean, it is kind of fun," admitted Sam. "I got to play in the school shop building stuff."

"And I like calligraphy and decorating," said Tina.

"Besides," said Quinn. "How many of us have been planning since our junior year to get Kurt to do their future wedding?"

Almost everyone raised their hand, even Santana. Quinn raised an eyebrow.

"Well, Brittany wants him to."

"So we can all think of this as paying it forward," said Quinn. She turned and looked at Santana. "What are you doing here anyways? I thought you were at the gardens when I called you."

"Eh, I was in the car. We need Artie to come set up the sound system," said Santana. "Brittany went over to get him."

"Technology boy at your service," bowed Artie as he wheeled up with Brittany at his side. "But I would have expected the Botanical Gardens would have had their own set up."

"Not in our area," said Quinn. "It's meant to be a relaxing space with the trees and roses and simplicity."

"I'm just glad it's enclosed," said Brittany with a shiver. "It's cold outside."

"Yeah, the photographer's going to have fun framing those photos to not get the snow," said Quinn.

"We have a photographer?" asked Sam. "Since when?"

"Ask Burt Hummel," said Tina working on her next book and not looking up. "Man can work miracles."

"Speaking of working miracles," sighed Quinn. "Back to work everyone."

With a groan, they all complied. Quinn picked up her next apple. Her phone went off, and she laughed when she saw the number and starting walking away from everyone.

"Hi Shelby. Yeah, I called. I was wondering if you and Beth would be free for something. I know it's short notice, but..."

* * *

"You know," said Kurt, nibbling on a pretzel as they walked through the mall. "They haven't even asked us anything about the wedding party and who we'd want to be in it."

Rachel looked up from her fruit smoothie. "You know, you're right." She looked off into the distance, thinking. "I mean they can't really make mistakes. We love them all."

Kurt took Rachel's smoothie and she grabbed a bite of his pretzel. "I mean, changes could be made later I suppose."

Juliet smiled to herself and held her dress tighter. It was cute really, watching them debate things they had no clue about. She got a text from Quinn.

_Blaine's coming to relieve you. I need your help. Finn will be waiting out front. - Q_

"Oh hey Blaine!" said Rachel with a wave. She glared at Kurt as the dark haired boy approached the trio.

"Fancy meeting you here," said Kurt. "You buying clothes too? We just got Juliet's dress, which might I say, is spectacular."

"Oh no, my clothes are fine," he said, smoothing his hair. "Shopping list for Quinn."

"Oooh," said Rachel, diving for the large bag in his hand. Blaine pulled it out of the way before she could grab it.

"I'm afraid not," he said with a sad smile. "You can see it tomorrow."

Rachel rolled her eyes upward with a groan. "Of course."

"Wait, tomorrow?" said Kurt with a frown. "For some reason I thought Finn said something about the 28th this morning."

"No, it's tomorrow," said Blaine, rubbing his cheek and feeling paint flick off with a frown. "I can tell you no more than that."

"Wait, you're in jeans," said Kurt. "And a hooded sweatshirt. You rarely ever do this casual." He gasped. "I see paint splotches. Have you been painting Blaine Anderson?"

"Oh, no," he said, obviously lying. "These are just old clothes."

"For painting," sniffed Rachel. "Why do you smell like pumpkin?"

Blaine squeaked and smelled of his sweatshirt. He did smell like pumpkin. Some of the carriage they had made for the table setting must have worn off on him.

"Mom made some pumpkin pies," said Blaine with a shrug. "The smell must have gotten on me."

"Oh," said Rachel. She looked around.

"Wait, where's Juliet?"

Kurt and Rachel looked around, but she was nowhere to be seen. They turned back to Blaine who was looking at them with an innocent smile. Rachel's eyes narrowed.

"She was just a decoy, wasn't she?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," said the black haired boy, leaning his head to the side.

"Blaine," said Kurt. "Quinn and Finn are keeping tabs on us, aren't they? That's why he asked me if we could keep an eye on Juliet. She was keeping an eye on us. The sneaky, underhanded..."

"Basically... yes."

Rachel laughed, looking at Kurt. "Our friends are priceless."

"That's because they're not worth anything to anyone else," muttered Kurt.

"Oh I don't know," said Blaine. He motioned to a table, and they all three sat down in the food court. "I think we've all been a little busy in the world for a reason. We might be worth a little something," he said with a smile and slung the bag across the back of his chair away from Rachel's grabby hands.

"And you two are important to a lot of people in about three different locations, getting ready for a pretty big event tomorrow."

"Three locations?"

Blaine typed a quick message on his phone. "Yes. Maybe more if you count catering, cake and such."

Kurt and Rachel shared a quick glance.

"They really went all out, didn't they?"

"Well, they had a little help from your parents," said Blaine. "But yeah, it's after Christmas. Not exactly wedding season."

Rachel laid her head on Kurt's shoulder, and took his hand.

"Remember when we had this all figured out?"

"That was about four days ago when we stepped off the plane, yes."

"I think I like this one better."

Blaine smiled softly and changed the subject. "Anyone up for lunch? I'm kind of hungry, actually."

"Is it really a _Wicked_ theme?" blurted out Kurt.

"I know nothing about themes," said Blaine, humoring Kurt. "Nor do I give out any details. Did Juliet say something?"

"No," said Rachel. "Just... a hunch."

"Huh," said Blaine. "Interesting... hunch." He stood and grabbed his bag as he saw Rachel reaching her arm around him for it.

"Hey!" said Mercedes, walking up to the three of them and giving Kurt a hug. "Did you two have a good Christmas?"

"Very good," smiled Rachel. She noticed Kurt staring at Blaine's hands. She bumped his hip.

"It was fine. Just fine," he said quickly. "Lunch?"

Mercedes shot Blaine a 'you owe me' look as she launched into telling the three what she had gotten for Christmas.

* * *

"Ugh, I should have known we couldn't trust Blaine honesty-is-my-middle-name Anderson. He'd tell anything to Kurt in a heartbeat," sighed Santana. She tossed Quinn back her phone. "I sent Mercedes to the rescue. She was nearby. They're going to lunch."

"It works," said Quinn, hand painting details on a silver mirror.

"Damn woman," said Santana, nodded her approval. "That really looks like ivy."

Quinn smiled and nodded her thanks.

"I think it's better they go to lunch. We have a lot of stuff we need to move out of the school since it's finished that doesn't need to be seen. Then Mr. Schue can lock up afterwards."

"Are we nearly that close to being done?"

Quinn nodded. "Anything else we see that needs to be done we can paint or fix in my basement."

Tina wiped her forehead, which was now covered in eight different colors of paint. "I think we may just pull this off."

"If Puck and Mike get that wall installed, I'd be happier and more confident," said Quinn.

"That was a brilliant idea as a backdrop," added Tina. "I love it."

"Luckily we got all those unused books for pennies," smiled Quinn. "You did some haggling."

"Didn't help that you kept turning around and showing off your 'assets'," said Tina with a giggle.

Quinn laughed out loud. "So what's why we got a good deal. I see."

Tina chuckled and went back to her work.

"Why did we never hang out?" asked Quinn. "You are so super nice."

"I don't know," said the Asian girl with a shrug. "It just never came up." She frowned. "As much as I love Mike, I'm beginning to think I really did spend too much time with him in high school when you guys were around." She sighed. "I missed out on a lot I think."

Quinn looked at her, confused. "But you two are going to get married right? Like Sam and Mercedes."

"I don't know, maybe?" said Tina. "It just makes me wonder if there's more out there, maybe something just a little bit different. Sometimes I wish things didn't have to be so... Asian."

"Like rich white girl problems," muttered Quinn.

"I guess we really can't get away from stereotypes," sighed Tina.

"Oh I don't know," said Quinn. "Kurt seems to be good at it."

"Are you kidding?" laughed Tina. "You turn Rachel into... Raphael and put her in some Polo or Brooks Brothers and she'd be just another..."

"Blaine."

Tina snorted in laughter. "I wasn't going for that image, but yes I suppose so. Rachel is very determined and knows what she wants."

"Interesting way of putting it," said Quinn. "Guess it really is more of an identity than gender."

"For some people at least," said Tina. "Love truly is blind sometimes."

Quinn laughed, her eyes dancing. "Thanks Tina."

"For what?" said the Asian girl, picking up the butterflies they had just painted and glittered.

"For making me understand something I thought I couldn't."

Tina smiled. "Well, I'm glad." She sighed and looked down at herself in Quinn's mirror.

"Now help me to understand how I'm going to get all this paint off before tomorrow evening?"

"Not yet," said Quinn with a sigh. "We're still not done, remember? And you and Brittany have a book to finish."

Tina groaned.

* * *

It was mid-afternoon when Kurt and Rachel promised Blaine and Mercedes they'd go back to Kurt's house. It took a lot of convincing, but Mercedes had pulled Blaine off in another direction, leaving them by themselves.

"You two still have trouble around each other."

"I think so, a little..." sighed Kurt. He was quiet.

"Hey," said Rachel, turning Kurt towards her. "You okay?"

Kurt swallowed hard. "It's just him, you know?"

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Boys."

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "You girls are not much better."

Rachel laid her head on Kurt's chest as he buried his face in her hair.

"Hey, did you have a recording on the 28th?" frowned Kurt. "There's something bugging me about the date, and I can't remember what."

The brown haired girl pulled out her phone, checking it.

"Nope. I would have definitely remembered if I had."

"Huh," said Kurt, thinking. "There's something…" His eyes widened. "Oh. Shit." He covered his mouth with his hand.

"What is it?" frowned Rachel.

Kurt bit his lip. "Blaine's birthday is the 28th."

Rachel pulled up Facebook on her phone.

"You're right. Crap," sighed the Jewish girl. "We need to do something. Blaine is such a sweetheart."

"I can't believe I forgot," sighed Kurt.

"You can't remember everything."

"I have an idea," said Kurt suddenly. "Come on," he said, taking Rachel's hand.

"Let's go back to the mall. I also have an idea for a wedding thank you for everyone."

Rachel's eyes widened. "We need wedding thank you gifts?"

* * *

Burt nodded to Leroy as he passed him a beer. He, Carole, Leroy, and Hiram were all sitting down in the Berry living room. It had been a long day with everything going on. The kids had done more running around than they had, but they were still exhausted.

"When did we get old?" said Hiram with a sigh as he took a sip of his wine.

"Somewhere between birth and 18," said Leroy, rubbing his short hair.

Carole chuckled. "It's true. As parents we are so 'over the hill.' Once they turn six, we're no longer trusted with their secrets."

"I guess in a way, I'm lucky," said Burt. "I got to hold onto Kurt a little longer because of his mom, but he never trusted me with who he truly was."

"Sometimes a child knowing exactly who they are is not a good thing," said Leroy. "Rachel always wanted to sing and dance. She never did anything else."

"But she's driven, motivated," said Carole. "Finn floundered for a long time."

"He's a good kid," said Burt. "An Army man."

"Just like his Dad," Carole sighed. She took another drink of her wine. "I just pray that he never has to go off to war."

"We can hope," said Burt, agreeing.

"And here we are again," said Hiram. "So this time around?"

"I think there's nothing we can do to change things is there?" said Carole. "They've already snuck off and gotten married on their own."

"It does make the saying no part a little difficult doesn't it?"

"20 and 21 still doesn't seem much older than 17 and 18."

"They at least have a little more figured out that Finn and Rachel did," said Carole. "Kurt and Rachel both have work along with their schooling. They have a _budget_. Kurt even mentioned to me that they have insurance. _Insurance_, Burt. When did we think about insurance at 20 and 21?"

"We didn't," said Burt. "We flew by the seat of our pants."

"Guess that's the one thing about having kids who worry about the details," said Leroy. "They are in New York, you know. Not Ohio."

Burt nodded and took another drink from his bottle.

"I guess it's time that we finally have to let them go, isn't it?"

"More like they're standing at the classroom door saying: 'It's okay Daddy. I'll be alright.'"

"Rachel always has been a strong one, hasn't she?" said Carole with a smile.

"Very much so," said Hiram.

"Speaking of our kids," said Burt. "Where are they?"

"Finn phoned me," said Carole. "Something about going out for some fun later tonight since almost everything is complete."

"They deserve some fun," agreed Leroy. "They have been busy."

"So what do we get to do for fun?" laughed Burt.

"Sit back and calculate the monthly credit card bill for the next 12 months," groaned Hiram.


	11. Chapter 11

AN: This was just a fun chapter to write. :) Thanks everyone for the reviews!

* * *

"That's everything," said Rachel, handing off the last bag to Kurt.

"Great," he said, taking it upstairs. "Now all we have to do is box these up." Rachel turned quickly when she heard a knock on the open doorway of the Hummel home.

"Hello?" said a familiar voice. Unique was standing in the door, smiling.

"Oh hi," said Rachel with a smile of her own. "You have perfect timing. We just got home."

"Wade," said Kurt coming downstairs. "Come on in! Maybe you can give us some wedding details. No one else will."

"And get killed by the head bitches in charge? Nuh-uh boy," said Unique, wagging her finger. "But we do have plans. You two are coming with me."

"What? Why?" said Kurt as Rachel handed him his coat. She still had hers on.

"We're meeting the others," said Unique with a smile. "You'll see." Kurt looked at Rachel, who shrugged. "It's not often I get to rock this skirt in Lima and get to sing too."

"Wait," said Kurt. "Where are we going?"

* * *

About 15 minutes later, Rachel laughed as she pulled in behind Unique.

"You've got to be kidding me. The arcade? Doesn't Artie's dad own this place?"

Unique grinned and opened the door to Rachel's side. "Welcome m'lady to your evening out. Miniature golf, bumper cars, bowling, roller skating, the works."

"Get over here," yelled Quinn. It was then they noticed the large group of their friends gathered around the front door.

"You made it! Finally," said Puck. "I've got dibs on Hummel for laser tag. I need a good shield."

Artie laughed and came up behind Kurt and Rachel. "My Dad said that we could have the place for the night. I thought everyone might need a break. Us from running around too much, you two from boredom."

"Uh wow," said Rachel, giving Artie a hug. "Thank your Dad for us. This was nice for him to do that."

"Come on," said Mercedes with a laugh and pulled on Unique's arm. "You and me are hitting the karaoke setup Artie said they got going on up in here."

"Oh lord help us," said Kurt as Rachel squealed and followed Mercedes. "We'll never going to be able to get her out of here. All three of them."

"She's your wife," said Quinn, coming up beside Kurt as they entered the building. "I'm surprised you two don't hit up every karaoke bar in the city. You would kill."

"Maybe after school," said Kurt. They passed by the rollerskating rink where Brittany and Santana were already skating around in circles under the lights. They waved to Kurt, who waved back. Joe, Tina, and Sugar were at the bowling lanes getting ready to set up a game. "Between classes and working, it's hard to do much else without major rescheduling."

"By the way, the girls are going to have a sleepover at Rachel's after this. Mani-pedi, scrubbing paint off our skin, all the fun stuff."

"Rachel will enjoy that, I think," mused Kurt. "I don't think you've all ever spent the night at once."

"It'll just be me, Brittany, Santana, Tina, and Mercedes. Sugar's got a family thing in the morning and Lauren shrugged off any nausea inducing activities. Unique said she'd love to, but that much diva in the room between her, Mercedes, and Rachel was probably too much."

"Of course," laughed Kurt. "Are you really finished?"

Quinn pointed to the paint on her wrist and elbow.

"I'm amazed," said Kurt. "Really. When Finn suggested it, I couldn't even begin to think you all could pull it off. But you did." He hugged Quinn.

"You can admit I'm the better wedding planner later," said the blonde haired girl with a laugh. "But I had help. A _lot_ of help."

"I bet all your friends at Yale will be amused that you pulled off a wedding on your Christmas vacation."

"If things work out well tomorrow, maybe I can take up a side business," smirked Quinn. "I could use some extra money to pay for all the books I need."

"Hey, where's Blaine?" asked Kurt suddenly. "I have a birthday present for him. I nearly forgot it was his birthday the day after tomorrow."

"He followed Sam and Mike to laser tag," smirked Quinn. "Have fun being Puck's shield." She waved and headed back to the skating rink.

* * *

Kurt groaned and followed the signs to the laser tag area, which was behind the main building. It was outside, and a maze.

"A maze," grumbled the brown haired boy. "Of course, it would be." He heard a yell that sounded suspiciously like Sam and he rolled his eyes. Artie came up beside Kurt, handed him a laser vest and gun.

"You're on the blue team. Now Puck can't use you as a shield as he's on the red team, but I'd be wary of Blaine. He's fast."

"And Blaine's on the red team?"

"Yep."

"Great, now I have to be a sacrifice to give a present. Thanks Artie."

He grinned. "First one to find the opposite team's flag and make it back to their home base wins. I'll give you a hint: Red team's is to the north. I'll be up in the tower. Have fun!"

"Thanks," said Kurt sarcastically.

"Yell 'Puck is a moron' if you need anything."

"That would get me killed Artie!"

The boy laughed and waved as he rolled away.

Kurt tried to fight back a smile, but failed, shaking his head. The things he did for Blaine Anderson. He headed into the maze. The New Directions had been to the game center once before when they had gotten home from Nationals in New York, but never got the chance to come back. Kurt wasn't much for these sort of recreational type things anyways. Before they had just roller skated and bowled. He had to admit, there was a bit of a thrill in his chest entering the maze.

He took a left and a right, frowning as he came to a dead end. He turned around and went to the left, following the outside wall. He heard footsteps on the graveled ground to the right and hid. He frowned at the gun. He saw Sam pass him, sporting red lights on his chest. He shot Sam right in the back of the vest. He heard Sam curse as he ran off, laughing.

"Puck, Blaine! Blue team's got another one in the maze! We're even!"

"Who?" yelled back Puck from nearby. Kurt heard footsteps and hid.

"Couldn't tell. They shot me in the back man!"

He smirked. _Kurt Hummel, laser tag ninja._

Kurt stayed in the shadows as he walked carefully forwards trying to avoid the large overhead lights. The red team would be somewhere around their base right? Protecting their flag. He crept silently to what he thought was north in the maze, being careful to walk silently on the gravel as much as possible. It wasn't an easy feat, considering he was wearing patent leather, and the others were probably wearing boots or tennis shoes. He changed directions a couple of times, hearing people pass. He made a left, then a right and blinked. He had come upon a semi-wide area with a chair and a red flag.

He was blue wasn't he?

There was no one guarding at the red team's flag. _Huh_. He crept forward and made his way to the chair.

A voice rang over the maze. "There is a blue team member in the red team base. I repeat, there is a blue team member in the red team's base!"

_Shit._

"Artie you ass," mumbled Kurt. He took the flag and ran hard and fast. _Well, the red team would find him no matter what right?_

He heard Finn yell and the unmistakable sound of lasers being shot. He laughed when he saw Puck go down out of the corner of his eye. Finn must have tackled him to the ground.

"Dude, Hummel has the flag?" yelled Puck in disbelief. Kurt kept running. The blue team's base had to be to the south, didn't it?

"So that's who shot me in the back!" said Sam. He sounded impressed.

That left Blaine. _Blaine Warbler Ninja._ He hadn't seen him yet.

"Go go!" said Mike, running up beside him. "I'll stop Puck."

"But who's was going to keep me going?" yelled Kurt. He was already out of breath, dodging through the maze. He turned left, then another left, right, then another right. He was going to kill Artie. It didn't matter if he had glasses or was in a wheelchair. He was going to kill him for even thinking about offering up his dad's place as a suggestion for a night out.

Kurt finally collapsed at a dead end, stopping to catch his breath. He couldn't hear footsteps anymore. He suspected they were all down near the red team's end, throwing punches and laughing.

"Hello Kurt," said Blaine from behind him. The taller boy squeaked and turned.

"Blaine! Just the person I was looking for. I came into the maze to find you. I got something for you. I have—"

"_You_ have _my_ team's flag, and a zero hit count. Hmm..." stated Blaine with a smirk, pointing his laser gun.

"Now wait a minute," stammered Kurt. Even though he wasn't really into the game, he was still a little protective. "I can offer a trade?"

Blaine looked confused. "Trade?"

Kurt reached into his pocket of his coat. "Happy Birthday. Well, happy early birthday. I figured I'd better go ahead and give it to you or I might forget it in the... rush of things."

"Aww, you remembered," said Blaine with a soft smile. "Thank you." He hugged Kurt and Kurt smiled. He missed these hugs, and while it was nice and warm... he still had a mission.

He shot Blaine in the back and took off running as fast as he could.

"Kurt!"

"Sorry!" he yelled back. Kurt swore he heard Artie laughing his head off up above the maze.

Three changes of direction later, and Kurt came upon the blue team's base with a sigh. He sat down in the seat, holding the flag in his lap. Blaine stumbled in about five seconds later, followed by Mike and Puck. Finn and Sam came in last.

"Blue team is da winner! Blue team is da winner!" yelled Artie from the tower. Kurt laid his head back against the chair and sighed. Puck came into his vision with a nod.

"Dude Kurt you kicked ass."

"Why thank you," he said with a large wave of his arm. "I'm going to have to start running more on the treadmill. Geez."

Blaine looked amused as he opened his present. "A watch?"

"I noticed you weren't wearing yours earlier."

"That's because I dropped it in paint," said Blaine. "Thank you for my birthday present."

"You're welcome," said Kurt. "Good thing I noticed. Don't want Mr. Anderson to be late for his classes at Michigan."

Artie wheeled into the maze. "Some of the girls have made a request that they want to join you in laser tag. What say ye men?"

"We're screwed," said Puck. "Our best runner would jump ship to the girls team in a heartbeat."

Kurt waved the red flag that had been sitting in his lap. "I may be partial to the girls, but I do have a certain loyalty to the men of the group."

"So Kurt kicked all your asses huh?" said Quinn, coming into the maze, holding up a laser gun. It was such a surprising image that even Puck looked perturbed.

"Indeed," said Mike. "He is a laser tag master."

"I just got lucky," shrugged Kurt.

"Then you won't mind if we join you," said Mercedes, holding up her own gun. Sam made a face and Mercedes laughed at her boyfriend, putting a hand on his shoulder and kissing his cheek.

All the rest of the girls filed in, already outfitted with vests and guns. Joe joined the boys.

"Whoo, at least we're evenly matched," said Finn. "Seven to seven."

"Six to six actually," said Artie. "I'm about to change the rules up in here."

"Alright," said Santana, twirling the gun around her finger. "What's the changes?"

"We're going to play _Capture the Bride and Groom_."

Rachel groaned. "Really Artie?"

"Well, I could just have everyone shoot at you," said the boy with a grin. He cracked his knuckles. "_Runaway Bride_."

Kurt turned and snorted into Brittany's jacket beside him, earning him a slap on the shoulder from Rachel.

"Alright rules," said Artie. "Instead of flags, we have Kurt and Rachel. Girls have Rachel. Boys have Kurt. You have to protect them at all costs. You will have to get the opposite one back to your base to win the game. Three shots and you're out for five minutes, as usual." Artie picked up a controller off his lap and pointed it at Rachel's laser vest. It glowed white on the LED. He did the same thing to Kurt's.

"Boys are blue, girls are red. Kurt and Rachel are white. While they do have guns, you can't shoot them, and they can't shoot you. If at any point they are left alone without a teammate they have to yell for help. And as an added twist: Rachel and Kurt can shoot each other. Doing so will end the game and give the win for their team."

"Damn," said Santana. The sentiment was shared by the group.

Rachel leaned over Kurt. "I look forward to shooting you my love."

"You know, you still have to sleep later," glared Kurt to Rachel. She smirked. "We'll see who's sleeping if you shoot me."

"Just don't give him a hug," murmured Blaine.

"That was brilliant battle strategy," said Kurt, holding up a finger.

"Twenty bucks if you'll look the other way while I steal him from your base," said Santana.

"Deal," said Blaine quickly.

"Hey!"

Brittany grinned. "I'll protect you Kurt."

"Thanks Brittany... I think."

"Yeah, protect his behind all the way back to our base," smirked Mercedes.

"Can we shoot our own team mates?" asked Quinn, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, and it does count towards their hit counts," smirked Artie. "Alright, everyone to their bases." He took the flag out of Kurt's hands.

"Game starts when I get back to the tower."

Finn went over and held the laser gun to Kurt's shoulder and shot.

"Huh, it doesn't even register the hits. Is white like God mode?"

"Gamemaster," said Mike. "One hit from their laser gun and you're out of the game. You don't want to get in the way if Kurt did have to shoot Rachel."

"Yikes," said Joe.

"It's only for use if the Gamemaster had to come in and break up a fight," said Mike with a shrug. "Guess Artie's having fun tonight."

"He does like to direct," agreed Sam.

"Classical tragedy tonight, I see," commented Kurt. All the boys looked at him in confusion.

"Well, it's true."

"It is a bit like _Romeo and Juliet_," agreed Blaine.

"See? Exactly."

"I can say still how fucked up this situation is?" said Puck. "I come home for Christmas to see my sister and half-brother and I get roped into Kurt and Rachel's wedding. Now I'm playing laser tag with all you losers."

"But you're having fun, aren't you?" said Finn with a smile.

Puck smirked. "Lauren's going to have a field day when I tell her we played laser tag."

"Whipped," said Sam, slapping Puck on the shoulder.

"You're not much better off," said Puck, raising an eyebrow.

Mike laughed.

"You either," glared Sam. "I've seen your girlfriend angry. It's not pretty."

"I guess we're the only single men in the group," said Blaine to Joe. The dread haired boy smiled.

"We're the only smart ones." Blaine laughed out loud and clapped Joe's shoulder.

"The game has commenced! Good luck my boys!" yelled Artie.

"No bias!" yelled Rachel.

"And my girls!" yelled back Artie, which got a laugh from both groups on opposite ends of the maze.

"You ready to run?" smirked Blaine.

"As ready as I'll ever be," said Kurt with a sigh. "Glad I just changed out of my white wool. The wood and dust would be murder."

"You look better in white though," commented Blaine. Kurt smiled softly at the compliment.

"Blaine, you go out next," said Finn, putting his hand on the dark haired boy's shoulder. "Keep an eye out for Santana. She'll be fierce." He nodded and headed out into the maze. Finn dropped down to his knees beside Kurt.

"Don't let him distract you Kurt."

Kurt looked at his step-brother in confusion. He scoffed loudly when he realized what Finn was implying. "Do you... really Finn? _Really?_"

"He's giving you compliments and you're smiling all dopey... You noticed his watch was missing and you gave him one as a birthday present? That's a little odd Kurt."

"For your information," said Kurt tersely. "That was from _Rachel and I_."

Finn frowned with a shrug. "I'm just looking out for you," he said. "Keep your head."

Kurt crossed his arms and ignored him. Finn sighed and left Kurt in the base with Sam.

"He's just looking out for you Kurt."

"Not you too Sam. _Please_."

* * *

Rachel stood on the chair trying to see over the maze. The walls were pretty tall and could only see the passing whiff of boy hair. She couldn't even see any of the girls at all.

"Don't break your neck," said Mercedes at the door of the red team's base. "We still need you intact for the wedding tomorrow. Although if you did break your neck, I'm sure Santana and Quinn would make sure you'd walk down the aisle anyways."

"I'm sure," agreed Rachel. She sat back down in the chair.

"It's awfully quiet."

"Too quiet," commented Mercedes. "This is our boys we're talking about."

"Wanna sneak out?" said Rachel with a grin. "That'd confuse them."

"That's perfect," Mercedes said. "Then they can't find you, and we can sneak down to their base."

"Come on," said Rachel. They started to walk out and went around a corner. Tina passed them with a thumbs up and they breathed easier. Mercedes got in front of Rachel and they started walking carefully through the maze. The black girl winced when she heard the inexplicable sound of the laser gun. She gasped when Puck rounded the corner and she shot him.

"Damn. Santana got me twice. That's three." He looked at his watch with a frown.

"Go on, if you're going." Mercedes grabbed Rachel's hand and took off down the maze. Santana nodded to her from her corner when they passed.

"Wait, why do you have Rachel?"

"Protecting her on the run," said Mercedes.

"Good idea," said Santana. "Just don't get caught."

They all three heard Kurt's melodic voice ring out for help.

"Kurt's alone in the maze, let's go girls!" yelled Santana. They rushed off towards the blue team's side of the maze, searching for Kurt. They passed Sugar watching the time on her phone with a sigh as they passed. Brittany joined them in running and Mike appeared out of nowhere shooting at Brittany and Santana. The former dodged, but Santana got hit.

"Fuck. That's three for me," sighed the Latina. She sat down. Mercedes shot at Mike, but he took Rachel's hand with a gasp from the Jewish girl and took off running. Brittany followed afterwards and Rachel couldn't help but laugh. This was crazy insane. Mike was headed for the blue base, but she heard Brittany's gun hit him twice. Tina was yelling over to Quinn and Rachel heard running.

He skidded to a stop and hid, and they watched as Brittany passed them.

"Shhh," he said to Rachel with a smile and a wink.

Like _hell_ she'd be quiet.

"Help! Mike's got me!" she yelled out in laughter. He looked at her in surprise, but laughed too.

"You're a troublemaker," he chided and took off. Quinn came up and shot at Mike, but he was already gone around a corner.

"Good job," chuckled Quinn. "I almost had Kurt, but he practically did the same thing. Joe took him back, and Sam shot at me and Tina. Is your blood pumping yet like mine?"

"More than a little," agreed Rachel. Quinn took her by the arm. Mercedes rounded the corner and saw Rachel with Quinn in relief.

"I traded shots with Finn," said Mercedes. Her hit counter showed two. "Think Puck's back in the game."

"Crap," said Quinn. "We need to locate Kurt." Mercedes agreed. They walked through the maze at a brisk pace. Quinn shot at Joe, but he ran off.

"Okay, if there's Joe, where's Kurt?" asked Rachel.

Kurt's voice rang out again, and they heard Brittany yelling at Mike.

"They're nearby, let's go!"

They took off down the maze, and Brittany rounded the corner with a giggle. She had Kurt in a firm grip behind her and running him at full speed.

"I got him, let's go!"

"Go Brittany! Get back to the base!" cheered Mercedes. She turned around and stood her ground and shot at Mike as he approached. Tina shot him in the back with a smirk as she blew imaginary smoke off her gun as he sat down with a sigh.

"That was for the painted forehead comment earlier, Mike Chang." Tina and Mercedes gave each other a high-five as they passed.

"Yo, my dawgs! The girls have Kurt & Rachel _and_ are headed back to their base! You going to let them win?"

"Shut up Artie!" yelled Quinn. The girls and Kurt were running back towards the red team's base when Brittany came to a sudden stop. She pushed Kurt in front of her.

"I am _not_ a shield Brittany," said Kurt in a huff, smiling at Sam and Blaine. Finn and Puck approached from behind and took Rachel by the arm.

"I don't think so Frankenteen," said Santana, putting her laser gun to Finn's back and shot. He groaned. Sugar did the same to Puck.

"That's three for you two."

"But we're free and clear," said Blaine, steadying his gun on Quinn. "You'd have a hard time getting off three hits, much less six."

Neither of them noticed at first that Rachel was sneaking forwards and towards Kurt. Except Sam, who nudged Blaine.

"Kurt run!" said Blaine. He pulled Kurt out of Brittany's grasp and Quinn got off two shots on Blaine as Sam took off after Kurt.

"That was close," said Sam. He could hear Quinn and Santana behind him.

"We've got to turn around," said Kurt. They took a couple of rights, turning to double back and head back in the other direction, but ran into a dead end.

"Crap!" said Sam. He looked at his hit counter. He had one hit. Kurt gulped when Brittany, Quinn, Santana, and Rachel approached them in the dead end. They heard Mercedes and Sugar shooting after Mike and Joe.

"Finn, Puck, and Blaine are all out," said Quinn, crossing her arms. "So what do you say Sam?"

"I'll go down trying!" said Sam. Santana scoffed and took his gun, shooting him twice in the chest.

"That went really well," said Kurt sarcastically at Sam who gave him a sad, sympathetic look as they both saw Rachel approached Kurt with a big smile.

"Hi sweetie."

"Don't sweetie me. I can shoot you too, you know."

"But you wouldn't do that, would you?"

"You come any closer and I might," said Kurt, backing up. Rachel kept walking forwards, her hands behind her back. Kurt, wary, leveled his gun on Rachel.

"I just want a kiss," smiled Rachel. Quinn snorted in laughter.

"Okay, gag me now," said Santana. "Shoot him Berry and get it over with. Because if you don't, we can just march him to the base."

"No one will be doing any marching, or any kissing," said Kurt, holding his head high in the night air. "The boys will be up in two minutes. I think we can stand off till then." He pointed his gun right at the middle of Rachel's laser chest piece.

Rachel pouted. "You'd do that to me?"

"In a heartbeat love. Tragic love stories never end well."

"Can I kill them both now and be done with it?" groaned Santana. Brittany shook her head no. She was grinning and videoing the whole thing on her phone.

Rachel smirked. "No, tragic love stories never do end well. But luckily the good ones do, and they usually involve kisses of true love." She pushed Kurt back against the wall and kissed him deep, much to his protest. He gave in, kissing back. Rachel leveled her laser gun shot him square in the chest, never breaking the kiss.

The girls cheered happily. Quinn and Santana gave each other a high five. Mercedes, Sugar, and Tina all grinned at the scene from behind the others.

"Now that is an ending!" laughed Artie from above them. He waved down to the girls. "Game over boys! Sorry, but you got slaughtered."

Mercedes went over to Sam's side with a smile and took his hand, helping him up. "You were brave, going down to Santana like that."

"All in a day's work, m'am," he said with a grin. She took his hand and leaned into his shoulder.

"Come on girls, let's go inside and celebrate with a pizza," said Quinn. "We'll buy the losers a slice."

"Sounds good," said Tina. "I think I want some hot chocolate. It's freezing out here, even though it's walled up."

All the girls agreed and walked off. Some of the boys came up beside them as they walked out, and the girls rubbed in their victory.

"Where's Kurt and Rachel?" asked Finn.

"Still swapping saliva in the corner," said Santana. "She killed him with a kiss. They haven't come up for air yet."

"Ouch," said Mike. "That's just mean."

"But awesome," said Brittany.

Back in the dead end, Rachel moaned into the kiss. They broke apart after a moment.

"Sorry," said Kurt, leaning against the wall. "I needed that."

"No complaints here," said Rachel. "But why did you need that?"

"Something Finn said," sighed Kurt. "He said I was letting Blaine back into my head. Just because I smiled at a compliment Blaine gave me."

"What did Blaine say?" asked Rachel, suddenly apprehensive.

"We were talking about jackets," said Kurt. "He said I looked better in white."

"He's right. You do," said Rachel. She smiled and took off the laser vest and laid down the gun. Kurt did the same. "But there's no reason for Finn to say that. Ignore him."

"I know," said Kurt. "I love you, you know? I mean, I guess there's been a lot of partner swapping among the New Directions, so some discretion is understandable..."

Rachel kissed him softly. "Just don't think about it Kurt. Finn's paranoid I suppose."

Kurt pulled her closer with a smile and they hugged close for a moment.

"Okay, it's really cold out here now that we're not running back and forth," said Rachel with a shiver. "Let's go back inside. I came looking for you for karaoke, but the girls roped me into playing laser tag."

"Just a moment," said Kurt. They kissed again, his fingers running through her hair.

"You owe me, by the way. That was _low_."

Rachel smiled and leaned in for another kiss.


	12. Chapter 12

Rachel Berry was a girl on a mission. She and Kurt had gone back inside the recreation center, but instead of dragging him to karaoke, she left him with Tina and Mike while she found her target: one Finn Hudson. He was standing beside Puck at one of the arcade shooting games. She came up beside him and grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down to face her with a scowl.

"Ow!" said Finn. He looked at his attacker. "Rachel?"

"We need to have a talk."

"Later," he said with a frown. "Puck and I—"

She pulled harder. "NOW Finn."

"Ow ow... okay okay."

Rachel marched off with Finn in tow by the collar. Quinn gave her a look of confusion, and she shook her head. Santana gave her a thumbs up with a smirk. Rachel marched him right outside and sat him down on the back of her car.

"You idiot!" she huffed. "I should hit you."

"What did I do?" frowned Finn. He rubbed his neck. "That _hurt_ Rachel!"

"Good. You _deserved_ it." She gave him the evilest look she could conjure. "I can't believe you, trying to scare your step-brother like that. He already is scared enough Finn that he's going to screw up. He doesn't need you in his head telling him that he is!"

"You should be _thanking_ me," said Finn with a frown. "He was letting Blaine charm him."

"And you still _flirt_ with me!" said Rachel. "That's the problem with exes. There's always going to be... tension." She sighed, running her hand through her curly brown hair.

"Blaine flirted with him, yes. But it doesn't mean anything Finn. You don't have to protect us both by hurting him. Kurt still likes boys. He's always going to like boys and be enchanted by them. But it doesn't change his feelings for me Finn. He married _me_. He isn't going to stray, especially with the one person who... well, you know." She paced in front of Finn. "I so could hit you right now."

"You're worried too, aren't you?"

"I worry about him, yes." Rachel sighed and sat down next to Finn. "Just like he worries about me. We're _supposed_ to do that."

Finn sighed. "Look I'm sorry." He shifted uncomfortably. "I just— I thought I was helping. Just a reminder. I didn't think he'd take it so personally."

Rachel punched his shoulder. "You're his brother idiot. I know you know you're not the most observant person at times Finn. So if you notice something, then it's pretty apparent that it's there. He doesn't want to screw up. You just— you don't know how hard it was to break down walls and rebuild them. Love and passion are easy to build, but it requires maintenance. It might be easier since we fall into step so well, but we still have to work at it. I know you and Juliet... it takes work and spending time together, right?"

"Yeah," said Finn. "It took time. We went on a lot of dates and stuff."

"See?" said Rachel. She punched Finn in the shoulder again. He frowned, rubbing it. "Blaine's always going to be around, just like you are for me. Just like Jesse or Brody. Trust him. I do."

"It's not him I don't trust, it's Blaine," muttered Finn.

"If you're worried about Blaine, then talk to him," said Rachel, annoyed enough that she punched Finn again.

"Would you stop that? Ow."

"Actually," said Rachel, reconsidering. "Don't confront Blaine. Let me take care of it, okay? I'll protect Kurt now."

"If you'll stop punching me," said Finn with a wince as he rubbed his arm.

"Wimp," she sighed, smiling at him. She straightened Finn's jacket and shirt.

"Now go apologize to Kurt."

Finn frowned, but nodded. He stood up.

"Thanks Rachel. And I'm sorry."

She leaned her head sideways and looked at him. "Apology accepted." Rachel pushed him back through the doors and watched as he stuck his hands in his pockets and found Kurt talking to Sam. Rachel sighed, suddenly tired.

"Hey," said Quinn, intertwining her arm with Rachel's. "Something going on?"

"Not really," said Rachel, waving her hand. "Just Finn being Finn as usual. He said something to Kurt, and it bothered him. Finn's trying to be all protective, but it kind of... backfired."

"What did he say?"

"That he thought Kurt was letting Blaine back in his head. Apparently Blaine was complimenting Kurt and Finn took it the wrong way."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "That's so Finn."

"Don't remind me," said Rachel. She smiled at Quinn. "So what are the plans for tomorrow?"

"For you? Not much early on," said Quinn. "We're going to get up, get dressed, go put the final touches on your wedding. Then we'll go back home and get changed. Then Tina will come back and help you get ready. Tina's cousin Claudia is a hairdresser and she's going to help do your hair and Tina will do your makeup."

Rachel wrinkled her nose. "I'm sure I need a lot of help."

"Hey," said Quinn, turning Rachel to face her. "Don't put yourself down like that. You're gorgeous Rachel. Any boy or girl would be happy to have you."

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Boy or girl?"

Quinn flushed. "Well, you are cute Rachel." She groaned. "I've been hanging around Brittany and Santana far too long."

With a grin, Rachel took Quinn's arm. "It's nice to know I'm adored by the females of our group too." The blonde rolled her eyes.

"By the way, what did you mean by 'we're going to get up'?"

"We're spending the night with you, just us girls," said Quinn. "Me, Tina, Mercedes, Brittany, and Santana."

Rachel looked taken aback. "Wow, I mean... not that I mind, but why?"

"Because we haven't done it since Nationals in Chicago," said Quinn. "It'll probably be one of the last few times all us girls will be able to be together. Just us. No stinky boys."

Rachel giggled. "Sounds like fun. Though please tell me the boys aren't doing the same thing. Because Kurt will die of horror."

"You know, I'm not sure," said Quinn with a shrug. "I think Puck said something about going and playing video games with Finn, but I think the boys are well aware that their likes and interests don't mesh well with Kurt's."

"That's putting it lightly," smirked Rachel. "I'd say send me over there, but that would defeat the purpose, wouldn't it?"

"Slightly," smiled Quinn. They sat down next to the concession stand that smelled like pizza and cotton candy. "Besides, the groom is not supposed to see the bride till the wedding anyways."

"Highly outdated," scoffed Rachel, crossing her legs. "There is no reason why I shouldn't see Kurt before the wedding. We're already married."

"We know," said Quinn. "Just humor us, okay? We have plans."

"Plans?" said Kurt, coming up behind Rachel, rubbing her shoulders. "Pray tell, tell us about the plans."

"I think I'd better not say," said Quinn with a smile. "But you'll like it, I promise." She stood. "I have to go find Tina, Mercedes, Brittany and Santana and let them know it's all set. We'll meet you at your house Rachel."

The brown haired girl nodded and Quinn turned to leave.

"Oh, and I need your wedding rings," she said. "We have a very cute ring bearer for tomorrow."

"Now?" said Kurt with a grimace.

Quinn shook her head. "Preferably before four o'clock tomorrow, please."

Rachel fingered her neck with a sigh. "I was just getting used to the necklace too. My hand still feels naked."

"Don't worry, you'll get them back tomorrow," said Quinn with a smirk. "Maybe."

Rachel looked up to Kurt, who shrugged. "Might as well go ahead and get it over with." He took his chain and handed it to Quinn. Rachel did the same. Quinn held them up and looked at them before putting both chains around her neck.

"I'll take care of them, don't worry."

"Now I really feel vulnerable," whimpered Rachel. Kurt squeezed her hand.

"We don't need a piece of paper or rings to define us."

"I know," said Rachel. She kissed Kurt's hand. "You're too cute to give up now."

"Funny," he said, taking Quinn's seat. Rachel scooted closer and snuggled against him.

"Have fun you two," said the blonde. "Enjoy him while you can Rachel."

Kurt frowned. "What does she mean by that?"

"They're going to separate us," said Rachel. "Until the wedding or right before."

"You're kidding."

"I wish," said Rachel. She cuddled close. "I don't know if I can sleep without you there."

"You'll be surrounded by five exhausted girls, you'll be out like a light in no time."

"Or wide awake worrying about a _Wicked_ theme. I still can't get anyone to tell me anything."

"Me either," said Kurt with a sigh. "I can sneak over after the girls are asleep if you want. Just text me. If they're all asleep in your room, we can go downstairs."

"Or I can put them all downstairs and we can sleep in my bedroom."

"Now that," said Kurt with a smile. "is a wonderful idea."

"I thought so," grinned Rachel. "I'll text you."

"Sounds like a plan," said Kurt, intertwining his fingers with Rachel's.

"I feel weird, not having my rings."

"Me too," said Rachel. "Like part of me is missing."

"Well, you still look whole," joked Kurt.

"I do think I am all present and accounted for," chuckled Rachel. She squeezed his hand and he rubbed the back of her knuckles.

"By the way, did you say something to Finn?" asked Kurt. "He came up to me and apologized for what he said. He went on about trust and building walls and I'm not sure I completely understood what he was getting at."

"Ignore him," said Rachel, rolling her eyes. "And yes, I did."

"Oh," said Kurt with a frown. "I was going to talk to him."

"You still should," said Rachel. "But I needed to say something. Finn was being protective. Of me. And you. Of us. He just wasn't doing it the right way."

"He tries at least," said Kurt. "Juliet and I have had this conversation."

"Where is she anyways?" said Rachel. "She should be here too."

"Finn said something about helping Carole with something to do with the wedding," said Kurt. "I suppose it's a good thing?"

"I think so," said Rachel. She yawned and leaned into Kurt's chest.

"I want to go home to our apartment," said the brown haired young man. "Just us."

"That does sound lovely," said Rachel. Kurt closed his eyes and she kissed him softly with a smile. He took her lips once more against his own. It was tender and soft and they held each other close. They never even noticed Brittany and Mercedes framing them in a picture against star covered wall behind them that surrounded the skating rink.

"That's perfect," said Mercedes as Brittany took a photo. Mercedes nodded her approval, and she took a couple more before squealing and scurrying away.

"I think we need to tell Quinn we found the final photo for her windows."

* * *

The group split up after a couple more hours, everyone going in opposite directions. Two on a secret mission, a few more headed to the Hummel-Hudson house, and a handful of girls headed to the Berry household. Quinn knocked on the door of Rachel's parents home, to which Hiram opened the door with a nod.

"Go on down, Brittany and Santana are already here."

"Down?" frowned Quinn.

"Rachel's bedroom isn't big enough for six girls and pedicures," said Hiram. "At least, according to my dear darling daughter."

"I suppose that's true," said Quinn, realizing she had never even been in Rachel's bedroom. "Thanks Mr. Berry."

"There's snacks and drinks if you girls need anything. We'll be safely tucked away in the living room away from the smell of nail polish."

Quinn chuckled and nodded. She headed down the stairs where Santana and Brittany were downstairs sharing a soda.

"She's up to something," said Santana. "She isn't pestering my ear off about wedding details."

"Or she's giving up trying," said Quinn. She unrolled a sleeping bag and put down her pillow. "They've redecorated down here."

"Thank god," said Santana. She was lounging in a Snoopy t-shirt and shorts. Quinn gave her a look and pointed to her pajamas.

"What? They're Brittany's."

"I think it's cute," said Quinn with a smile. "Brittany has good taste." Brittany nodded and stretched out in the red silk lingerie set she knew was Santana's.

"I like the pictures I took," grinned Brittany as she bounced her feet. "I'm glad Sam and Mercedes took them to be developed."

"That was smart to take the photo from your video," said Quinn. "Where is Rachel anyways?"

"Upstairs getting wine," said Santana. "Something about continuing the festivities."

"You're right, she is up to something," said Quinn. "But it'll be good to warm us up at least."

"What color do you want on your toes?" asked Brittany. She unrolled a large pack of nail polish.

"I like the sheer pearl," said Quinn, looking through the bag. "That'd be good on our finger nails after we put on the pink." She took out two bottles of light pink nail polish from a shopping bag.

Brittany smiled at the thought. "It does dry translucent."

"Perfect. And there's plenty for all of us," sad Quinn, stretching out. "We'll be the only ones in the wedding party anyways who needs it."

"Did you ever figure that we'd be Berry's wedding party again?"

"Maybe?" said Quinn. "I never really thought about it. Although if it was Finn again, I'm not sure I would have agreed."

"Me too," said Brittany. "Finn wasn't good for her."

"And Kurt is?" said Santana. "Not that I care really. It's Berry."

"Don't play distant San," smirked Quinn. "You know you've become friends with them since high school."

"Yeah well," grumbled the girl. "It's nice to have support you know? New Yorkers are okay, but for all their annoyances, Kurt and Rachel are more decent company that some of the jerk offs we've met. There are some real assholes in the city."

"And Kurt helps Santana and me with things. He's handy."

"He's better than the maintenance man in our building," said Santana. "He might be flaming, but he's good with a wrench and a hammer."

"I keep hoping since Kurt's decided he's a bi-corn like me that he'll let me make out with him again," said Brittany. "Rachel might not like that though. Oh that reminds me," the blonde said as she turned to Santana. "Rachel said I could have a kiss on New Years because I kept their secret. But you have to kiss Kurt though. I said it was okay since you'd be drunk anyways."

Quinn snorted into her pillow, trying not to laugh. "I'm assuming Kurt was not in on this decision."

"I think it was Rachel's idea," said Brittany, bobbing her head.

"Of course it was," said Santana, rolling her eyes.

"What was all my idea?" said Rachel, coming down the stairs with glasses and two bottles of wine. Tina followed her down with her own sleeping gear in tow.

"Kisses on New Years," commented Quinn. "Volunteering your husband up like that while making out with Brittany, for shame."

Rachel blushed. "I said one kiss, not a full on make out session. I love you Brittany, but I'm not sure I'm up for the full girl on girl experience."

"It's okay," said Brittany. She took a glass of wine from the brunette. "You can make out with Kurt instead. It's hot."

"Well, this conversation got awkward," said Tina. "But speaking of which... how is making out with your husband?"

"Ask most of New York," smirked Santana.

"We don't make out everywhere," said Rachel, rolling her eyes. She opened a bottle of wine and poured herself a glass. "You caught us once at the park, and you're never going to let me live that down."

"Getting caught seems to be a theme," smirked Quinn.

"By Cheerios," muttered Rachel.

Tina laughed. "Well, it got you a wedding."

Rachel nodded and put her hands in her lap.

"It really was sweet of you guys to do this," she said with a soft smile. "Kurt and I are happy all our friends support us. We really didn't know what to expect when we came home. I thought I was going to have drug Kurt to get him on the plane."

"I'm surprised you didn't," said Santana. "I swear he thought Finn was going to kill him."

"Burt, or my dads..." Rachel said, trailing off. "Funny. He was more worried about the men in our lives than you girls."

"Because he knows we love him," said Tina. "Maybe a little confused..."

Brittany poured Santana another glass. "We weren't. It made sense to us. They're practically bonded at the hip anyways," said Santana. "Might as well get a little thrusting in."

Rachel nearly spit out her wine.

Santana scoffed. "Oh come on Rachel, I've been making these jokes for months now. Even Kurt's gotten to where he doesn't bat an eyelash."

"Sorry," said Rachel. "Just thinking about what Finn said this evening."

"Ignore him," said Quinn. "You know better than that."

"What did he say?" frowned Tina.

Rachel finished her glass. "Finn thought Kurt was letting Blaine charm him tonight."

"Was he?"

"Blaine flirting? Maybe," said Rachel. "I don't know, I don't want to think about it anymore. It was stupid on Finn's part."

"You know what cures stupid?" said Santana. "More wine."

"And manicures!" said Brittany. "Okay Rachel, give me your hands."

"Can I drink too?" said the brown haired girl.

"I think it's required," said Tina. "Feet too. Give them here."

"At once?" whimpered Rachel.

"We'll get you done first," said Tina. "Then we can do each other. Bride takes precedence."

"Plus… we still have paint," frowned Brittany. "It dripped down into my ankle socks."

"I'm sorry," said Rachel, wiggling around to get comfortable while Tina and Brittany had her hands and feet. "Even though I have no idea what you're painting."

"You will soon enough," said Tina. Quinn nodded in agreement.

"We think you'll like it."

"I'm sure I will," said Rachel with a smile. She noticed Brittany was starting to paint her fingernails pink.

"It's not my approval that matters most however, you realize this."

* * *

Across town, Kurt Hummel kept checking his phone. Tina had just sent him a message of a photo with the girls sitting around drinking wine and painting their nails. He was almost envious. The boys had mostly gone home, save for Puck and Artie who were gaming with Finn in the den. Juliet smiled at him sympathetically.

"Boys."

"That they are," said Kurt. They were sitting at the bar in the kitchen. Juliet had her phone out too.

"So I heard you kicked ass and then got your ass kicked in laser tag."

"I merely was a participant," said Kurt. "But yes, Rachel killed me in a tragic love tale way that would win us both a Tony if they included laser tag as a category."

"How so?"

"True love's kiss before she shot me in the chest."

"Ouch."

"Yeah, don't play laser tag with the girls. They're quite ruthless."

Yells of jubilation could be heard from downstairs.

"It's like they are kids again."

"Technically they still are teenagers in some ways," said Kurt with a shake of his head. "Not to play the age card, but Artie's still in college, Finn's barely two years into the military, and Puck's still starting out in his pool cleaning business and modeling, despite all his boasts and claims."

Juliet wrinkled her nose. "I know. I think it's the height. It clouds the judgement."

Kurt laughed. "How is he doing really? Being in the Army I mean. We don't get to talk much with work and school..."

"I think he enjoys it," said Juliet. "Finn... he really takes to doing orders well. The physical aspect was a bit of a hit and miss at first, but he's doing fine now. Army really does train you for everything."

"What does Finn plan on doing?"

"Honestly?" said Juliet with a shrug. "I don't know. He really likes kids. I think he may go into some sort of recruitment position, or work at a military academy."

"Sounds like him," said Kurt. He spun his phone on the table.

A knock came at the door, and Kurt opened it to see Sam and Mercedes.

"Hey," he said with a smile. "Shouldn't you be over at Rachel's?"

"Sam's about to drop me off," said Mercedes with a smile at her blonde boyfriend. "I wanted to see you first. Rachel's my girl, but you'll always be my main squeeze." She hugged Kurt. "I came by to see what time do you want to leave tomorrow? The wedding is at five, so I was thinking 2:00. Quinn's trying to time everything so we can take pictures before the sun sets…"

Kurt gave Mercedes a look. "Before the sun sets? Please tell me the wedding isn't outside..."

"It's not outside," said Sam. "But close."

"Sam."

"What? I didn't say anything."

Juliet's giggles could be heard from the kitchen.

"Not that I mind, but why isn't Finn or Dad..."

Mercedes chuckled. "Yours and Rachel's family are going to be a little busy, so I'm playing designated driver. Quinn's driving Rachel."

"I feel so confused," sighed Kurt.

"Don't worry, I am too," said Sam, patting Kurt's shoulder. "I think the only one who sees the big picture is Quinn."

"At least someone does," said Kurt. "Now I know how Carole and Dad felt when I planned theirs."

"We'd better get going," said Mercedes. "I'll see you tomorrow after lunch."

Mercedes and Sam both waved goodbye as Kurt closed the door behind them. He frowned as it was already starting to snow again.

"You know, snow on your wedding is considered to be lucky," said Juliet.

"Just as long as we stay warm," shivered Kurt. "I really am cold natured."

"It's inside, don't worry," said Juliet. Massive explosions from the game could be heard from the den. Kurt sighed and Juliet just shook her head. The countertenor looked up and saw his Dad coming down the stairs with a yawn.

"Could you tell the boys to keep it down?" said Burt. "Some of us need sleep before tomorrow."

"I'll do it," said Juliet. She hopped off the bar stool and headed down to the den.

"So I see you survived the night out on the town," said Burt as he sat down across from Kurt.

"Possibly," yawned Kurt. "I learned Rachel is willing to kill me just so she can win a laser tag game."

"Can't say that I'm surprised," chuckled Burt. "Let me guess. Boys versus Girls?"

Kurt nodded. He was almost tempted to make himself a glass of wine to mirror the girls across town, but his and Rachel's secret plans did involve him driving to Rachel's house.

"Sounds like you all had fun."

"It was, for the most part," said Kurt. "Rachel and Mercedes teamed up and blew everyone out of the water at bowling. Although Tina and Unique made a great team. Brittany and Sam were good too. Not sure if Sugar and I are the best bowlers."

"Unique... she's the..."

"Transgender one, yes. She's going to school in Miami now. She loves it."

"Good for her," said Burt. "Kurt... do you and Rachel need anything? Besides a bigger wardrobe budget, I know. Look, Carole and I were talking, and we know how hard it is to start a married life together. And the two of you are still attending school..."

Kurt shook his head. "Nothing that I can think of right off the top of my head. I'm not sure what Rachel's budget is for books and things next semester, if she'll even need any. I think I'll be okay, but I'll have to let you know."

"You do that," said Burt. "I know I can't afford to buy you all the big name clothing you want, but I want to be able to help the both of you. I know Hiram and Leroy feel the same. Although they are paying for NYADA. Guess I'm lucky that my kid is paying for his own college."

"And I'm lucky to have you for support," smiled Kurt. "Go back to bed Dad."

The sound had been turned down considerably when Juliet came back up from the den.

"Mission accomplished Mr. Hu— I mean Burt."

"Good night you two," said Burt. He went back upstairs. Kurt's cellphone went off as he heard his dad close the bedroom door upstairs. He checked it eagerly and was happy to see a message from Rachel.

_Mercedes is getting her nails done, and then everyone's going to go to bed. You can go ahead and come on over. I'll sneak you upstairs._

"Perfect," said Kurt with a smile. He grabbed his keys, much to the confusion of Juliet.

"Going somewhere?"

"Errand to run," said Kurt quickly.

"This late at night?"

He nodded, putting on his jacket.

"Drive safe," said Juliet. He waved and went out the door. Juliet frowned and texted Quinn.

_Kurt just left the house, saying he had to run an errand. Should we follow? - J_

_Negative. I know where he's going. Rachel's been acting suspicious too. - Q_

_Finn sure is doing his job of watching his step-brother well. - J_

_Of course he is. Do me a favor would you? Just make sure in the future that any kids you two may have be properly leashed before giving them to Finn? - Q_

Juliet laughed out loud at that one before she texted back.

_Affirmative. Have fun with Kurt and Rachel. - J_

_Thaaaaaanks. I am going to be ripping my hair out before tomorrow. - Q_

_Don't. You have gorgeous blonde hair. - J_

_You're so sweet. Why can't you have attended McKinley? - Q_

_Good luck pulling my parents out of the South. They're all football and sweet tea fanatics. - J _

_Sam did. He stayed with the Hummels while he attended McKinley when his family moved to Tennessee for his dad's work. - Q_

_Wasn't he also a stripper? - J_

_With the body of an Adonis. Got to go. Rachel just went upstairs. - Q _

Kurt arrived outside of the Berry household, lightly tapping the snow off his Oxfords as he waited on the front porch. He had texted Rachel that he had arrived. She pulled him through the door quickly and towards the stairs.

"They're still awake," she whispered. "Tina's doing Mercedes' toe nails still and Quinn and Santana are talking. I came upstairs to get changed for bed."

"Nice Hello Kitty pajamas."

"Hush, they're one of my spare pair here at home," said Rachel, shooing him upstairs. "Go on or-"

"You know, it's fun sneaking around," said Kurt with a frown. "But you really should be downstairs having fun with the others. This maybe one of the last times we get to see them all in one spot. And they're here for you."

Rachel frowned, but she had to agree. "It could be. I forget that we're nearly out of college and everyone maybe more scattered that what they are now. Puck and Mercedes are already out in L.A. Lauren too. Sam's been there for a year now."

Kurt nodded and pulled Rachel closer. "It's scary, isn't it?"

"A little," Rachel admitted. "Broadway has always been my dream, but it hurts to think about that we all can't be in the choir room again."

"Kind of hard when we all had to graduate. Can't be a high school student forever," said Kurt with only a small bit of sarcasm and wistfulness.

Rachel bopped Kurt on the nose. "Imagine if we had. We'd still just be best friends."

"And you'd still be wearing animal sweaters and mary janes," he smiled sadly. He took Rachel's arm and twirled her around. "Funny how a little time can change things. I do love your curly hair."

Rachel giggled and wrapped her arms around Kurt. "And I love that you're happy with your work and school... and me."

"Very happy with you," said the countertenor. "I think I'm going to go downstairs and say goodnight to the others and go back home." He rubbed Rachel's forearm. "Nothing personal, but enjoy your time with the others Rachel. You've worked hard. You all have. Quinn's doing amazing, Santana's _acting_, Brittany's in _college_, Tina's doing theatre, and Mercedes is singing her heart out. Go have fun."

"You should be there too," pouted Rachel. Kurt scrunched up his lips and kissed her cheek.

"I think I'm just going to go home, shower, moisturize, find a Real Housewives marathon and go to sleep. We'll be running non-stop once we get back to New York for New Years."

"You know I was just teasing about kissing Brittany."

"Oh no, I'm not getting into that," Kurt said, waggling his finger. "You made Brittany a promise, you've got to keep it. I'll be standing nearby with a camera. And one hand on Santana. Okay, no hand on Santana. I don't want to lose it."

Rachel giggled and kissed Kurt softly. "Go on, say good night."

"Good night Lima," yawned the former kicker. "Hello New York."

"Later, when we fly back," she said as nudged Kurt's hip. He pulled her closer and she closed her eyes. They shared a soft kiss and Rachel leaned into Kurt's warmth.

"You sure you don't want to stay?"

"Don't tempt me."

Rachel chuckled and took Kurt's hand.

"Come on, go say good night."

* * *

A text came in on Juliet's phone as she sat beside Finn in the living room. Artie had gone home, and Puck and Finn were playing some sort of racing game. She looked at it with a smile.

_Don't worry, found your future step-brother-in-law. Wow, that's a mouthful. He said he came by to get a couple of things. Do we believe him? - Q_

_Probably not. But hey, no harm, no foul. - J_

_Rachel seems happier. She doesn't seem like she wants to get away from us. - Q_

_Sometimes a little reassurance is all that you need in love. - J_

_So all you really need is love? - Q_

_At least, that's what the Beatles say. - J_

_A steady paycheck helps. - Q_

_So does good friends. Do you mind if we keep texting even after we go back to Georgia and you go back to Yale? - J_

_I'd like that. Maybe we can even talk on the phone too. - Q_

_Sounds great. Ya'll have been so sweet and kind. - J_

_Ah, the southern accent even pervades texting. - Q_

_Unfortunately. Just wait till I refer to the dirty laundry as "warsh." - J_

_Type slower I can't understand you. - Q_

_Haha. Good night Quinn. - J_

When Quinn didn't answer, Juliet knew she was with the others and was probably helping herself to another glass of wine.

"Still texting with Quinn?"

"Yeah," smiled Juliet. "She's sweet. Plus, she found your step-brother." She enjoyed seeing her sweetheart's smile drop as she smiled smugly.

"Dude... Kurt's gone?"

"Yep. Walked right out the front door about an hour or so ago Finn. Good job."

He groaned.

"So where is he?"

"Walking right into the living room," said Kurt. He was freshly showered, a light sheen covering his face from his skin care routine. "Quinn wanted me to give you this Juliet. I left it on the kitchen counter, but I guess you hadn't seen it. I am under an unspeakable vow not to look inside."

Juliet took the box with a nod. "Thanks."

"And now, I'm going to sleep." He nodded to Puck, who nodded back.

"What is it?" said Finn after Kurt had made his way upstairs.

"Pieces for your boutonnieres," said Juliet. "Once the flowers arrive tomorrow."

"Oh," said Finn.

"So what, you girls are attaching something lame on top of the flowers? Aren't they already bad enough on their own?" mumbled Puck. He reached for the box. Juliet pulled it away before he could get to it.

"Yes," said Juliet with a smile. "You'll see."

* * *

The next morning, Rachel awoke to a small flurry of commotion. Some of the girls were already awake and her Dads were bringing down coffee & juice and croissants. Tina was already chugging down what looked like a second cup of the hot liquid already. Perhaps they had stayed up a _little_ too late last night. She snugged down even more into the sleeping bag, wishing Kurt was beside her. Rachel smiled, thinking he was probably thinking the same thing if he was even awake. His house was probably a lot quieter.

Leroy bent over and kissed her forehead.

"Morning sweetheart."

She opened an eye and pretended to yawn. "Morning Dad."

"Well, it's going to be a gorgeous evening for a wedding," said Hiram. "Weatherman said no clouds, clear sky today. You'll be gorgeous in white with the snow."

The brown haired girl sat up with a laugh. "Daddy, you saw my dress. I'm not getting married in white. We haven't even had time to go look for one with it being Christmas."

Hiram looked confused over the tray he was holding. "Then why did a bridal company drop off one this morning? Gorgeous dress. Loved the beading on the bodice."

All the girls except Rachel turned and faced each other before running upstairs. She was still looking at her father with a smile.

"Thank you Daddy," said Rachel, getting up and giving Hiram a hug. "But you didn't have to do that. I was fine—"

Hiram raised an eyebrow. "Sweetie, we didn't do anything. We were having tea and there was a knock on the door. White delivery van. Driver said it was for you. Veil and everything."

"Rachel! Haul your ass upstairs!" yelled down a voice.

She looked confused for a moment, before running upstairs after the others. She came up on Mercedes taking a two-tiered veil and placing it on her head.

"It is you. It's perfectly you."

"What is perfectly me?" said Rachel as she looked at the veil covering her face.

"All of it," said Tina. "The dress is gorgeous."

"I mean really, do you have a fairy godmother too?" said Santana. "Because she be blessin' your midget self."

Rachel went up beside Quinn, who was standing with the unzipped garment bag. The brown haired Jewish girl gasped when she saw the wedding dress.

"That... that was on my wedding dream list," said Rachel. She whimpered and felt of the fabric. Quinn handed her a note that had been attached to the front of the bag.

_From someone who loves and misses you._

Rachel took off the small headband the veil was attached to and handed it to Quinn. She took the dress out of the bag and held it up to herself.

"Go try it on!" said Mercedes as Rachel went to the hall mirror.

"The ivory material is gorgeous on you. It's looks like it's almost a perfect fit," said Quinn. "Whoever did this knows you well."

"I'm so confused," Rachel said. "I didn't order this. There's no way Kurt could have done this. We don't have the budget. Daddy said they didn't do it."

"Fairy godmother," said Mercedes. "That's the only explanation."

Brittany bounced over to Rachel. "Come on, let's go try it on! I can't wait to see Kurt's reaction later."

"He's going to fall over," smirked Tina. "You'll look more fabulous than he will."

Rachel had to laugh at that.


	13. Chapter 13

In the Hummel home, Kurt was still asleep, blissfully unaware of the comings and goings of the household. There was still a few touches here and there that needed to be finished. Carole was ironing a dress shirt for Burt when Juliet knocked on the bedroom door.

"You won't believe this, but Rachel was just delivered a wedding dress."

"Where did it come from?" asked Carole. "One of her Dads I bet."

"They don't know. Just a note attached to the dress bag. Rachel said it was on her wedding dream list. Quinn sent me a picture." She turned her phone around for Carole to see.

"That is gorgeous," said Carole, holding a hand over her heart. Rachel was standing in her sunny living room in the dress with her hair down and the veil over it.

"Kurt will be surprised. Can I show this to Burt?"

Juliet nodded. "Just not Kurt. Rachel doesn't want anyone telling him just yet."

Carole nodded, holding the shirt up for inspection. "I'm surprised Kurt hasn't woken up yet with everything going on in the house."

"He is sound asleep," said Burt, coming into the room. "Just checked on him. Guess all that running around New York and worrying about everything finally caught up with him."

"Burt, come look at Juliet's phone," said Carole. "Rachel had a surprise waiting for her this morning. A wedding dress."

"Huh," said Burt. "Good for her." He squinted at the picture. "Guess I'll just have to see it in person. I can't tell anything on those small screens."

"Hey, there you are," said Finn coming into the room. He kissed Juliet on the cheek. "Mom, I need to borrow my fiancee. We're tying up the loose ends at the botanical gardens."

"Just let me change," said Juliet. "I'm still in my pajamas."

"You look great," said Finn with a smile. Juliet swatted at his shoulder.

"Thank you for the compliment, but I do not look fine," she laughed.

"I think you look beautiful," said Finn. He took Juliet's hand. "Really."

Juliet's face grew warm. "Thanks Finn." She left the room.

Finn smiled and looked up, seeing his Mom and Burt looking on in amusement.

"What?" he said.

"Nothing," said Burt with a chuckle. "But you're making your mom cry." Finn laughed as he went out the room.

"Oh just wait," said Carole. "I'm bringing a box of tissues for you." She poked Burt's side while wiping her eyes.

"I might need them," chuckled Burt. He sighed. "I didn't expect this to be happening so soon." Carole smiled and rubbed his shoulder.

"At least you know he's happy," said Carole.

"Yeah," said Burt, giving his wife a kiss on the temple as she handed him his shirt.

"Hey Burt," said Finn from the hallway. "Sam just said that they dropped off our tuxedos."

"Oh great," said Burt as he walked over to his step-son. "I can't wait to see what you boys look like in your suits."

"With pink and grey accents," soured Finn. Burt patted his back.

"It could be worse. Come on, let's go have a look."

"I feel bad for whoever gets this one," said Sam, pointing to a garment bag as they made it down the stairway. "It's black velvet."

"It's probably a mistake," said Burt. "All the suits should be the same." He looked at the garment bag. It was plain white, compared to the others that were black and printed with the rental company name in silver script.

"You sure this one came with the others?" asked Burt.

Sam nodded. "It was hanging on the mobile rack when they pulled it out of the van."

"Huh," said Finn. He opened the bag and looked at the suit. "It's nice enough I suppose. But who's Gucci?"

"The name of fabulous couture being mentioned in this house and it is not being uttered from my lips? My, I sleep in and the world has turned upside down," said Kurt, coming down the stairs. The green and white striped polo with white skinny jeans stood out next to the dark washed denim of Finn and Burt as he came to a stop in the living room. "Gucci is a famous Italian design house Finn. House of Gucci. Look it up sometime. Luxurious, and—" Kurt stopped talking and stared at the bag his step brother was holding open. "Dear god, is that..." He took the suit out of the bag and held it up.

"Is what?" said Finn. Kurt's eyes were filled with surprise. He shook his head.

"Tom Ford did more than a few tuxedos for Gucci. Some were velvet, save for the silk detailing. Gorgeous suits. Gwyneth Paltrow wore a red one on the red carpet in the 90's. They were iconic Finn. Highly sought after these days. And this... this is one of them. So what the hell is it doing in a Lima, Ohio tuxedo rental shop?" he said softly, admiring the material.

"Apparently found just for you," said Burt. He held up a note pinned to the front of the garment bag.

_A gift for Kurt Hummel._

"You've got be kidding me," said Kurt, looking aghast at the note. He starting putting it carefully back in the bag. "I just- no. That has to be a mistake. That suit is probably worth more than eight grand by now."

"You're kidding me," said Sam in disbelief as he stared at the suit.

"Would I lie about fashion?" Kurt whimpered and rubbed a hand down the fabric. "Santana is right. I have a fairy godmother."

"Out boys," said a voice from behind Kurt. He froze, recognizing it well. Sam and Finn didn't need to be told twice. One did not question Sue Sylvester.

"Burt," said Sue. "Good to see your baboon heart is still ticking."

"Hello to you too Sue," said Burt with a nod of his head.

"Ah, I see my little gift has made it to your hot little hands Porcelain," said Sue. "I wrangled it personally from a cold dead Russian Mafia member who was hoping to make a quick profit at a Cleveland consignment shop. Too bad for him that no one there knows their Givenchy from their Anna Sui, but hey, what can you do. I made a good bounty on him so I was feeling a little generous."

"Coach Sylvester," began Kurt. "If I may—"

"No you may not," said Sue with a shrug. "Enjoy your gift Porcelain. I've got to run. The amount of blue collar in this house is stifling." Sue shuddered and walked out the front door without another word. Burt turned to his son.

"Kurt... did any of that make sense to you?" asked Burt.

"It's Coach Sylvester," said Kurt with a sigh. "Does it ever?"

"It is a beautiful suit," said Burt. "But how—"

"I don't know, and I don't want to know," said Kurt, holding up a finger. "It's best not to ask. The Mafia story may even be true." He paused and frowned.

"I need to go shopping." Kurt pulled out his phone with a whimper. "I didn't exactly pack anything for a formal occasion."

"Then what was in that very large suitcase of yours?" said Burt in amusement.

"Don't you start too Dad."

* * *

About thirty minutes later, Blaine knocked on the door of the Hudson-Hummel home. Kurt pulled him inside.

"I'm glad you got my text."

"How could I not when you sent me like ninety in a span of five minutes?" said Blaine, taking off his gloves.

"Well, I'm in a bit of a rush. I really need to get to Columbus, and Finn & Dad are busy." Kurt pulled out the tuxedo.

"I need your help." He began regaling Blaine with the earlier events.

"I- uh wow," said the former lead Warbler. "That is a beautiful suit... and quite a story." He was seated on the couch in the living room. "Hard to believe Coach Sylvester is that... giving, in or out of context."

"You're telling me," said Kurt. He sighed and sat down next to Blaine.

"Would you mind?"

"I don't mind Kurt," said Blaine. "I know sometimes things are strained between us because of what happened, but you still are one of my closest friends. If you are happy with Rachel..." Blaine dropped off mid-sentence.

"Can I just say that it's still the strangest thing in the world to speak outloud?"

"Try admitting that in the auditorium surrounded by your closest friends."

Blaine smirked. "That was pretty genius of Quinn though. It was Unique's idea to come find you two, but all of us at once did seem the most... fun."

"Ugh, you mean nerve wracking. You try being up on the stage and seeing all of the glee club descend upon you like a mob."

"I wasn't not the one holding a cute secret for a year and a half."

"... Cute?"

"Kurt," laughed Blaine. "You have to admit, the idea of you and Rachel is adorable."

The brown haired countertenor wrinkled his nose. "You really think so?"

"I do," said Blaine. "It... it'll take some time to accept fully, but I'm glad the both of you are happy."

"We'd better go," said Kurt, standing up. "Let me go grab my jacket and things."

"You do realize," said Blaine. "We have to be back at the least by two."

"I know, we're going to be pushing it," said Kurt with a frown.

"Alright, but I'm limiting you to two stores."

"Blaine!"

The dark haired boy looked exasperated at his friend on the stairs. "Kurt, seriously. I don't want to die by the hands of the New Directions this evening for you being late to the wedding because I couldn't pull you away from shopping."

* * *

"Okay so," said Santana, snapping her phone closed. "Puck just called me. We have one escaped groom and a groomsmen on their way to Columbus."

Quinn was pinning shimmery grey fabric around the white metal archway at the front of the seating area where the ceremony would take place. She dropped the rest of the roll with a sigh.

"And whhhhhhy is Kurt going to Columbus and should we be worried?"

"Going shopping, apparently."

"Let me guess."

"I'll-bend-to-anything-Kurt-says Anderson, yep."

"Remind me to kill them both later," said Quinn. She picked up the roll of fabric again.

"Text Blaine and remind him to be here at two, please. Make that a STRONG reminder."

A sly smile formed on Santana's lips. "Should we call and tell Rachel that her husband has skipped the state?"

Quinn laughed out loud. "With his ex-boyfriend. Wouldn't that be hilarious? No...I'm sure Kurt would have texted Rachel at least and tell her that he was going somewhere. Why are they going shopping?"

"Apparently Kurt needed something," shrugged Santana. "Puck didn't have much in the way of details. The boys were going to go have breakfast at Waffle House and he saw Blaine leaving with Kurt. Sam said they were going shopping."

"I wonder what for," said Brittany. She and Juliet were sitting out the luminaries down the sides of the aisle. They were having to recalculate distance between the seats and aisle because they didn't want to catch anything on fire now that Rachel had a wedding dress.

"No idea," said Santana. "But you know Kurt. It's not like he can shop somewhere easy, like the Old Navy or Forever 21."

"Santana," said Quinn with a smirk. "Like you shop at Old Navy."

"Well, you never know," said Santana, returning the smirk. "But if he's gone to Columbus just because he needed socks, then I'll personally put out on a vendetta against his wardrobe once we get back to New York."

"Kurt's not that bad," said Brittany. "If it wasn't something absolutely necessary, he probably wouldn't have gone."

"Where is Mercedes by the way?" said Tina, as she walked up to Quinn, holding several strands of ivy. Quinn took two and began to intertwine them for the archway. "I know the boys went to get food, but she should have been here by now."

"She's at Rachel's," said Santana. "She went back to see if she needed anything. Good thing too. We already have one runaway before the wedding, we really don't need another."

"Runaway?" asked Tina. She started helping Quinn put the ivy on the archway.

"Kurt and Blaine went to Columbus," said Quinn. "Apparently Kurt needed something and he and Blaine decided to go out of town on his wedding day."

"Idiot," said Tina, rolling her eyes.

"Tell me about it," said Quinn. She put a loose piece of ivy behind Tina's ear. Tina giggled and they tucked the ends into the already pre-drilled holes in the archway.

"This is all going to look amazing Quinn."

"I can't take all the credit," said Quinn. "This is everyone's ideas come together."

Santana handed Quinn another roll of grey fabric. "Quit yakking, more decorating."

Quinn raised an eyebrow. Santana rolled her eyes.

"Alright, I'll start bringing in more... things," huffed the Latina. She eyed the candelabras at the front. "Who is lighting all your stuff anyway?"

"Joe," said Quinn. "He volunteered since he was going to be the usher anyways."

"How many guests are going to be here?"

"I think Burt said about 45-50 between himself and Rachel's dads, but they weren't sure if they'd all come."

Tina nodded. "Speaking of which, where is Unique?"

Quinn laughed. "I sent her on a errand. I have a couple of guests coming in from New York and one of them needed her very own special dress that matches ours."

"Awww, you're putting Beth in the wedding?" squealed Tina. "So that was your surprise."

"I wasn't sure if Shelby would be able to make it," said Quinn. "But they flew in this morning."

"Beth's what 5 now?"

"Yes," said Quinn. "And growing like a weed."

"I can't wait to see her," said Brittany. "I think we're done Quinn."

The blonde turned away from the archway and nodded her approval to Brittany and Juliet.

"So is there anything else we need to do?" asked Juliet. Quinn closed her eyes in thought.

"The photo staging area is done and we're nearly done here. The caterers are setting up food and drinks in the tea house. Carole is making sure everything extra decorative wise is being set up on the tables if you'd like to go help Juliet. We're just waiting on flowers mainly. The sound system is already set up down there, and up here. Hiram and Leroy are bringing the official who's a friend of theirs. Oh Tina, you need to go set up the storybook/guestbook before you go do Rachel's makeup. If everything is finished and dry, that is."

"I almost forgot!" said Tina with a squeak. "I'm not letting that thing go to waste after me and Brittany spent so much time on that. Come on Juliet, have you seen it yet?"

"I don't think so," said the red head. "But I've heard good things."

"I want to come too!" said Brittany. "I love our book." All three girls linked arms and took off through the garden and trees.

"I just want a long shower," sighed Quinn. "A very hot one."

"I think I'm going to have to go back to New York to get any alone time with Brittany," said Santana. She was texting on her phone.

"She's having fun," said Quinn with a smile. She nudged Santana. "So are you, but you won't admit it."

Santana smirked. "I have to say, you guys are creative. It really is like a fairy tale up in here."

"And your flowers are here m'lady Quinn," said Mike, walking up. "Big truck parked out front."

"Thank God," said the blonde. "I was beginning to wonder."

"The tulips are gorgeous," said Artie, who had a couple of plastic covered bouquets in his lap. "Where do want us to put all of these?"

"Let's take them to the tea house, except what goes in here. Are all the boys here?"

"Yes m'am," said Sam, bringing in a large arrangement. Puck followed behind with a pedestal.

"Good," said Quinn. "You guys can help bring everything in here or to the tea house." She sighed. "Let's do this."

* * *

Blaine Anderson rested his perfectly gelled head against the seat where he was waiting on Kurt to finish. It was after 11 and he was starting to get a little nervous about getting back to Lima. They had made surprisingly good time getting there, but he knew his friend's shopping habits. He could spend hours fretting about single decisions. Not that he blamed him, really. He had a lot to get, and not a lot of time. Blaine chuckled. Not to mention only two stores to get it from. He wasn't kidding about limiting Kurt to two places. Granted it was probably the only two places that had the mid to high end items he knew that Kurt would want.

"Ugh, why did I not bring anything?" said Kurt as he put another item in the seat beside Blaine. The black haired boy had already been coddling the black wool and cashmere bow tie with much adoration. A white scarf was folded neatly under it, along with a box that held sterling silver and mother of pearl cuff links. A silver sparkly pocket square lay next to those. Underneath those held a pair of very shiny patent leather black shoes that Blaine thought he needed sunglasses to look at.

"Even shoes Kurt?"

"I didn't bring any black ones!" he huffed. "Of all things, I only brought white and brown, boots and shoes. I wish I thought of that at least. But I was a little distracted while I was packing."

Blaine smirked. "Rachel?"

Kurt wrinkled his nose. "She was quizzing me for a final using my flash cards."

"Let me guess, there was a reward for right answers."

The Tisch student blushed hard.

Blaine laughed. "Kurt, you have no reason to be embarrassed. Taking pleasure in your partner is sweet, even if you're supposed to be studying."

"She's good at distractions," muttered Kurt.

"And you are good at shopping too long," said Blaine. "It's 11:30 Kurt. We need to get going if we're getting back to Lima anytime soon."

"I know," sighed Kurt. "I need a shirt and I think that should be it."

"No more extras. You're still on a college student budget remember?" warned Blaine. Kurt got up with a sigh and threw a pair of black socks at Blaine and walked off in a huff. Blaine smiled, adding them to the pile. He sighed when he felt his phone vibrate. He could only put off Quinn so many times. Next time she tried to call, he was letting Kurt answer it.

* * *

"I think you look gorgeous babe," said Mercedes. "It's good thing we found those shoes. And they were on sale! You got lucky."

"Thanks for taking me to get a few things," said Rachel. "I know you probably should be busy with the others..."

"It's okay," said Mercedes. "They can do without me for a while." She smiled. "After all, I'm taking care of the bride. You're the most important thing of a wedding."

The brunette laughed."But of course. Although the most important thing of this wedding is you guys," said Rachel. "We came home to tell our families about us being in a relationship. We expect complications, but really all we've gotten is love and acceptance. And a wedding. I mean really."

"Well, thank your families," said Mercedes. "Quinn can work miracles, but we had to have some money to do it." Mercedes moved to push some of Rachel's bangs out of her face. "Your hair and makeup is going to be beatutiful."

"Me and Tina do make a good team," said Claudia. She was slightly older, in her thirties, but a spitting image of Tina, save for the pink streaks in her hair. Chandelier earrings hung from her ears, and her clothing was almost as colorful as Mercedes' usual ensembles. "If only I could convince her to come into business with me."

"Claudia, you know I want to be an actor," said Tina. "But I don't mind helping you out during the summers."

"I suppose I can live with that," sighed Claudia. "You've got to grow up sometime."

"You should be glad Mom let me hang out with you so much," teased Tina. "She always said hair dye would ruin my brain cells."

"You came out alright," said Claudia, waving her hand. "I'd love to have your curls," sighed the Asian woman put a comb in its place in Rachel's hair. "Even if it's a bottle, it's gorgeous. I see how you caught your husband."

Rachel smiled. "Thank you." She laughed. "But I don't think my curls helped me win Kurt's heart, although the thought is appreciated."

"What do you think won you his heart?" said Tina. She applied a light blush over Rachel's cheeks.

"Being supportive, an ear to listen. Knowing each other's habits I guess," said Rachel. "Not judging or being critical. Letting him be himself I suppose."

"Boring," said Claudia. "We want the sexy details. Is he hot?"

Tina giggled. "You remember Kurt? The guy who came with me when we'd come into the shop to visit after shopping in the thrift stores?"

"You mean the elf? Damn."

Laughter erupted from Tina's lips. "Sorry Rachel, but Claudia's always thought Kurt looked like an elf out of the _Lord of the Rings_ movies."

"He does have that look about him, doesn't he?" said Rachel with a chuckle. "Perfectly cold and distant."

"But that's not our Kurt," said Mercedes. "Loving and a heart of gold. And way into fashion and Broadway. And boys."

"And boys," echoed Rachel. "And there's so many cute ones in New York. We go to street cafes for dinner and boy watch."

"That's adorable."

"You should be there when Santana and Brittany join us. Santana has eerily accurate gaydar. Kurt and Brittany are about in the middle. I'm just not good at that I think," laughed Rachel. "Funny, since I grew up around with two fathers and lots of the LGBT community coming over for dinners and sing-alongs."

"It's probably because you're so comfortable with it," said Tina with a shrug. "You don't see the signs. Santana's like a bloodhound."

"Guess so," said Rachel with a small smile. "Can I see it now?"

"Not yet," said Tina. "Claudia's still working on your curls. Mercedes, can you hand me the mascara? The extra ultra super mega special waterproof version."

"Expecting tears?" teased Rachel. "You know I'm not really the crying type."

"Not for you," said Tina as she opened the product. "But I'm afraid when Kurt goes to kiss you his bawling is going to ruin your makeup."

This sent Rachel in a fit of giggles. Mercedes was cracking up, putting her hands on her knees. Kurt was infamous for his outward emotions. Graduation and his dad's wedding had been terrible.

"Hold still," laughed Tina, resting her hands on Rachel's shoulders. "So I can actually finish and get you to the wedding."

"I'm just about done," added in Claudia.

"Don't worry Rachel," said Mercedes. "I'll make sure to stuff some tissues somewhere on Kurt."

"Thank you," chuckled Rachel. "When are you going to go get him Mercedes?"

"I'm not," said the black girl. "Blaine's going to bring him at two. Kurt had to run to Columbus this morning for some reason. Did he not let you know?"

"You know, I haven't even checked my phone. It's downstairs," shrugged Rachel. "It's been a little busy this morning."

"This is true," said Mercedes. She pulled out her phone. "Quinn's been texting with them about every 15 minutes, getting updates from Blaine. Apparently they're on their way home now."

"Good," nodded Tina. She stood back and admired her handiwork, dusting off her hands.

"I think she's done," said Claudia, coming up besides Tina, crossing her arms.

"I think we do good work," said Tina. They gave each other a high-five.

"You're gorgeous," said Mercedes. She turned Rachel towards her dressing table mirror. Her makeup was simple and soft, but there was a definite rosiness to her cheeks. Even the mascara seemed light, like she was wearing nothing at all. Her hair was twisted low at the nape of her neck, but the curls had been pulled and teased to hang in ringlets in the back. Her bangs framed her forehead, and her eye shadow showed off her eyes beautifully.

Rachel looked down at her clothes with a sigh. "Now only if I was in my dress."

"Soon," said Mercedes. "Getting excited?"

"Nervous," said Rachel. "I can't wait for Kurt to see my dress. It really is more gorgeous in person than on a computer screen."

* * *

Blaine finally pulled up at the Hudson-Hummel residence a little before two.

"Dude, it's about time," said Puck, coming out into the yard. "Took you long enough."

"We hurried as fast as we could with traffic," said Kurt, getting out of Blaine's car. He pulled out his purchases from the back seat.

"Stay away from Finn," warned Puck. "He's about ready to lock Blaine in the closet and throw you in the car. Quinn's been hassling him. He's in the kitchen. Sam will run interference. Blaine, your tux is in the guest room on the first floor."

"Guess we don't have much time to get ready," said Blaine lightly.

Kurt sniffed and held his head high. "I will take as long as I need."

Blaine snorted. "Good luck with that."

Puck was checking his phone, and nodded. "Go, Sam's asking Finn something. He'll never see you go in."

"Finnzilla," said Kurt, rolling his eyes.

"Quinnzilla and Finnzilla," said Puck, smirking.

"You look good in a tuxedo," complimented Blaine to Puck. "It suits you." Puck stuck his hands in his pants pockets.

"Thanks, but don't give Lauren any ideas," muttered Puck. "I hate these overstuffed suits."

"Look as miserable as possible and you'll be fine," said Kurt. "I'm going to go get ready." Blaine and Puck nodded and he walked quickly towards the house.

"You'd better go too," said Puck. "I'd rather not see any dead today. We've worked too hard over all this."

"Yeah," said Blaine. "That we have." He sighed.

"Hey," said Puck. "Do you think before I go back to L.A., you could give me a hand Blaine? My agent is always after me to better my wardrobe so I can put together a more professional portfolio, but I'm not like you and our groom. I don't have any eye for that kind of crap. I'd ask Kurt, but he'd make a big deal out of it. I'd kind of like it low-key. I don't want to be walking around with no seven or eight shopping bags and a hat box."

"Deal," said Blaine. "A few solid pieces is all you need really. Then you can mix and match. It's about as easy as picking out a t-shirt and jeans if you've got good stuff."

"Just no bow ties, alright?" said Puck.

"No bow ties," promised Blaine.


	14. Chapter 14

AN: Thanks everyone for the reviews! And to the 8,000 views, wow. I'm glad everyone has enjoyed the story. Only a couple more chapters to go. :)

* * *

Puck wandered into the Hudson-Hummel household where Sam was talking to Mike. Finn was pacing in the kitchen with Juliet, who was trying to pin something to the tulips that would adorn his suit. There were two in the boutonniere, red and cream. He almost laughed when he saw the charm she was attaching to it. It was a gold star with a rainbow trail.

Juliet saw his amusement and rolled her eyes. "Quinn saw them in Hot Topic and thought it was perfect for a laugh."

"It's fitting," said Sam. He was adjusting his jacket. Mike was fixing his bow tie using a hand mirror. All of them were perfectly dressed in black and white tuxedos. Puck had to admit they all looked pretty sweet dressed up, even with the silver vests. Even Finn's fiancee looked good with her reddish blonde hair cascading down her shoulders as she tried to pin the flowers on Finn's chest. Artie was talking to Matt and Joe in the living room. Blaine came walking into the kitchen where they were standing and Juliet lit up when she saw him.

"Ah, our last one," she said with a smile as she pulled out the last set of tulips.

"Finn, stop checking the time man," said Mike. "You're just going to worry yourself to death. They're here at least."

"I'm not worried about that," said Finn. "You don't know how long it takes Kurt to get ready."

Both Blaine and Sam sighed. That was one thing they did know, having spent time waiting on Kurt to get out of the bathroom.

Puck shrugged. "He can take as long as he wants. It's kind of his day you know? Hard to start a wedding without half of the couple."

"So why worry?" said Sam, slapping Finn on the back. "We can chill out, watch some TV. Hey, do you have the second Avengers movie? That was so frickin' awesome."

"Just got it for Christmas," said Finn with a smile. "Haven't even opened yet."

"We should totally watch it later," said Sam. Mike nodded and they bumped fists.

"There you go," said Juliet to Blaine. She whispered in his ear, and Blaine nodded.

"Okay seriously, how long does it take to shower?" said Finn. "It is already after two."

"You want to go calm down Finn or check on Kurt?" sighed Juliet.

"I think I'd better handle Finn," said Blaine. Juliet nodded and went up the stairs. She didn't hear the shower running, so that was a good sign. She knocked on the door.

"Kurt? It's me, Juliet."

"Tell Finn I'm almost ready." She swore she could almost see him smirking on the other side of the door.

"Need anything?"

"A shot of whiskey or something equally alcoholic before I get downstairs in front of your fiancee?"

"Finn's not that bad Kurt."

"Oh really? I can hear him pacing from up here. Frankenfeet is not light footed."

Juliet chuckled. "Alright, I'll let him know you're almost ready." She heard the unmistakable sound of hairspray and headed back downstairs.

"Kurt said he's almost ready Finn. Let him get downstairs and then you can throw him in the car."

"Speaking of cars, we're going to head on out," said Sam. He and Mike started walking towards the living room with a wave. Puck gave Finn a nod and headed behind them. Juliet started packing away the corsage and boutonniere for Carole and Burt, who were at the gardens already. The only one left was Kurt's.

"What is in the middle of Kurt's?" said Finn.

"It's called a Calla Lily," said Blaine. He leaned down to get a closer look. "I love how the tulip stems are wrapped around it."

"Since they're using both tulips and the lilies in decoration, the florist made Kurt's boutonniere with them both. Rachel's bouquet has a few mixed in. It's beautiful." stated Juliet.

Finn's phone rang, and both Blaine and Juliet cringed. They didn't even have to ask Finn who it was.

"Hi Quinn," said Finn, answering his phone. "He's almost ready. Some of the others are on their way. We'll be going just as soon as Kurt comes downstairs. Everything will be fine Quinn, Is Rachel there? Well then you're okay. No bride or groom. No, you and Santana are not allowed to kill anybody today."

Juliet stole the phone from Finn.

"Everything will be fine." She heard the blonde on the other side sigh.

"Are you sure? Because everything seems a mess. I want to go back to Yale. At least books makes sense."

"And here I thought you wanted to take up planning weddings on the side?" teased Juliet.

"Now I regret ever saying that."

"Take a deep breath and go drink you some punch."

"There's some bottles of champagne on the bar chilling."

"Don't even. That's for later." Juliet was sure Quinn was pouting on the other end.

"No champagne," promised Quinn. "And I'm being shooed away by Carole. Oh, they're bringing Rachel in. Smugly tell Kurt that his wife beat him to the ceremony."

"Will do," said Juliet with a smile. "Go take care of things." She hung up Finn's phone.

"You are so good," said Finn with a kiss.

"That's because you're scared of her," said Juliet. "I am not. You young whippersnappers have nothing on me," she said, pretending to shake a cane at Finn.

"You are not old," said Kurt, coming into the room. "Juliet Coleman, you are barely 25. I checked your Facebook. Your birthday was in October."

"Kurt, you look great," said Finn, looking at his step-brother with a smile.

"Black velvet really suits you," agreed Juliet. She pulled on his arm and started attaching the boutonniere to his jacket.

"I don't know," he said with a frown as he looked at his reflection in the window. "I think it makes me look paler."

"It makes your freckles stand out," said Finn. "Usually you can barely tell they are there."

"Ugh, the bane of my existence, other than acne," said Kurt. He laughed when he saw the charm on Finn's boutonniere. "How apropos. Although I'm not sure I qualify anymore as the most rainbow of the group. I think Unique might deserve that honor."

"You're still pretty unique yourself," said Blaine. Kurt turned to face him with a smile. Blaine moved to pick a piece of imaginary lint off Kurt's jacket and smoothed his shoulders. "And you look... amazing Kurt."

Juliet nudged Finn in the side with her elbow when she saw him shift uncomfortably.

"Thank you," said Kurt to Blaine, his face warm. "We have a wedding to get to, shall we? Somewhere." He shook his head when everyone just looked at him. "Still nothing? Fine fine. I guess I just have to wait till we get there then?"

"Yep," said Finn, grabbing his keys. "Hey Blaine, thanks."

Blaine nodded. "Come on Kurt. Finn's got your Dad's truck."

"Anything I should know about before we leave? I'm dying here."

"Nope," said Finn, putting his arm around Kurt's shoulders. "You have to wait, just like Rachel did."

"Hey, at least you got to get dressed at home," said Juliet. "Rachel's dress wouldn't fit in Mercedes' car. And Quinn said to tell you that she's already there, by the way."

"Wait, Rachel's dress wouldn't fit in the car?" said Kurt, confused as Blaine handed him his bag off the couch. "What, did her dress come with a hoop skirt?"

"No," said Finn. "She has—"

Both Blaine and Juliet's hands went over Finn's mouth.

"Uh-huh," said Kurt suspiciously. He turned to face Finn. "Out with it." He snapped his fingers. "I don't have all day."

"Alright," said Blaine. He took Kurt by the arm, dragging him away from his step-brother. "Come on, let's go. Leave Finn be."

"But secrets!"

"You're getting married in three hours. I think the secrets can wait till then."

Kurt whimpered and followed Blaine, dejected.

"Me and my big mouth," muttered Finn. He took Juliet's hand. She smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Just think, in a year or so, if there's something I want to surprise you with, Kurt might be doing the same thing."

"Maybe so," agreed Finn. "I can't wait for you to be Mrs. Hudson."

Juliet fingered her engagement ring and squeezed Finn's hand.

* * *

Mike and Matt were pulling down the decorative bottles from the trees and turning on the candles when Quinn came into the ceremony area. She smiled. She really loved that the area of the glass dome they were in at the botanical gardens really looked like a forest. Tina and Mercedes had found antique round glass bottles that they put battery operated candles in and strung them from the trees. They had stretched the sheer grey fabric between the trees, stringing fairy lights along with it, which would create so many different shadows on the grass as the sun set. Quinn had added to that by hanging clear crystals hanging from the branches. It was going to be gorgeous the closer it came to evening. They had even dusted the glass bottles with a light silver glitter.

"Good job boys," said Quinn, nodding her approval.

"Your handiwork," said Matt from the ladder. It wobbled a little bit and both Quinn and Matt glared at Mike.

"Don't kill Matt," said Quinn with a sigh. Mike saluted her.

"Pink again," said Santana as she and Brittany came up behind Quinn. They linked arms.

"At least this is a soft pink," said Brittany. "And we have grey sashes."

"We are so not doing pink for our wedding," said Santana firmly to Brittany. The blonde grinned.

"I was thinking orange."

"Orange and hot pink go great together," said Quinn with a chuckle. That got a bitch glare from Santana.

"I ain't havin' no Barbie wedding."

"I'm a Barbie girl, livin' in a Barbie world!" sang Brittany. Santana groaned and crossed her arms.

"You've been singing that for two months. I'm going to kick whoever introduced you to Aqua."

Brittany grinned. "No you can't. It's his wedding day."

Santana smiled devilishly. "Oh that's even better." She turned to Quinn. "We have karaoke tonight, don't we?" Quinn smirked.

"It wouldn't be a glee club wedding without a little singing."

"Excellent," said the Latina. "So when are we taking pictures and doing this... veiling thing Rachel wanted again?"

"As soon as Kurt gets here, whenever that is," said Quinn. "The photographer is setting up equipment in the tea house/reception area… whatever you want to call it."

"The pretty area," said Brittany. "I like that we lined the ceiling with the fairy lights."

"They are nice," said Santana. "But really, do you think Kurt's going to fly with this? I know Rachel wanted it since she has a veil and a dress now, but it's a Jewish tradition, isn't it?"

"We'll see," said Quinn. "Mr. Berry said he'd talk to Kurt. I really don't see why he'd have a problem if Rachel really wants it. It's not like she's having a traditional Jewish wedding."

"Yeah, I see that going over real well," said Santana with a yawn. "Oh my god, is that... Beth?"

Quinn looked up to see Shelby walking towards them with Puck holding Beth. She was nearly a spitting image of Quinn, down to the beautiful blonde hair.

"Look who I found walking in," said Puck. Shelby gave Quinn a hug.

"Thanks for inviting me," she said with a soft smile. "You've done an amazing job here wow."

"So have you," said Quinn, looking at Beth. "She's gotten so big."

"She does that on her own," said Shelby. "I think she's going to be tall and thin like you Quinn. She's already taller than her friends in kindergarten."

Quinn's breath caught her in throat. "She's in school already?" Shelby noticed Santana and Brittany's look at each other.

"Don't worry," said Shelby, pushing her hair behind her ear. "She's adjusting well. She has lots of friends."

"Good," said Quinn. "I'm glad." She turned towards the girl in Puck's arms.

"Hi Beth."

"Hi."

"You remember Quinn, don't you?" said Shelby. "She comes and has lunch with us."

"Yeah, she brings presents."

Quinn laughed. "I do. I'm sorry I don't have one today."

"It's okay," said Beth, looking around. "It's pretty in here."

This got the biggest smile from Quinn.

"Me and my friends decorated it," said the former cheerleader.

"Can I get down now?" said Beth. Puck nodded and sat her down on her feet. She had on little pink snow boots and a jacket over her dress.

"Don't go too far sweetie. Stay where I can see you."

"Okay Mommy!"

"I'll watch her," said Puck. Shelby nodded and Puck followed behind her.

"I don't know how well she's going to do," said Shelby lightly. "She's a little hyper with all the traveling and everything. I know you wanted to use her for a ring bearer, but..."

"It'll be alright if she can't," said Quinn. "We can do the rings, it's not a problem."

"So Rachel's getting married huh?" said Shelby. "So how's the lucky boy? Is it that Finn Judson boy or something? The one she was dating in high school?"

"Finn Hudson," corrected Quinn. She smiled. "And no. You remember Kurt? The one she moved in with when she first started at NYADA?"

"You don't mean the sweet gay boy who was her best friend?"

"That's the one," said Brittany. "He's still sweet, and super gay. Though now in love with Rachel and she loves him back."

"Wow," said Shelby, shaking her head. "Amazing how things change. Will was right about you all."

"Mr. Schue?"

"Yes," said Shelby, taking off her scarf from around her neck. "He always said you all changed boyfriends and girlfriends more than you changed hairstyles."

This earned a snort from Santana.

Brittany scratched her head. "It's true though. I made out with all the boys in school, but I never changed my hair."

"Because Coach only let us wear a high ponytail," said Santana, rolling her eyes.

"Where is Rachel?" asked Shelby. "I wanted to talk to her for a few minutes."

"She's in the tea house getting changed into her wedding dress," said Quinn. "You have plenty of time. The groom isn't even here yet."

"Shell?" said a male voice, which made the girls turn. A brown haired older man came up and joined Shelby. "Finally found a place to park. It's getting really cold out there. Oh hello," said the man, doing a double take at Quinn. He extended his hand to her. "And you must be Beth's birth mother. Wow, she really does look like you."

"Quinn, this is my husband, Jason Hathaway."

"Nice to meet you," said Quinn. "I didn't realize you were married."

"It's been a bit of whirlwind the last few months," smiled Shelby as she took his arm. "He's a mortgage broker. We met through a friend."

"Wow, congratulations," said Quinn. "I'm happy for the two of you."

"Thank you," said Jason.

"Well, I'm going to go find Rachel," said Shelby. "I want to introduce Jason. Ah, there's Puck. He would be letting Beth reach for those candles... Puck!"

"They're not real," said Quinn with smirk. "They're battery operated."

"Oh good," said Shelby. "That's really... just wow. You outdid yourself Quinn, really."

"Maybe you should think about into the wedding business," said Jason. "It does look really good in here."

"Thank you," said Quinn. "But I'm not sure if that's my calling in life. My goal is to be an actress."

"She's attending Yale," added in Shelby with a smile as Puck came back over with Beth. The little girl automatically reached for her mother and Puck nodded to the girls and walked towards the doors to go back out. Quinn smiled sadly as she watched them all walk off. She felt Santana and Brittany reach around her shoulders.

"Thanks guys, but I'm okay. Beth has a real family now, doesn't she?"

"She's does," said Brittany. She leaned her head on Quinn. "She'll have a Daddy who can do more than come and go."

"Yeah," said Quinn. She sighed. "Me and Puck just weren't cut out to be parents."

"Maybe not now," said Santana. "But in the future."

"I want kids," said Brittany. "Not now though. Be hard to go to class."

"And I am not doing babies and your homework," chided Santana with a smile. "I still have to go to work too, you know."

Brittany nodded her head.

"Hey Quinn," said Puck from the doorway. "Spotted our groom. Finn and Blaine just walked in with Kurt and Juliet."

"Good," said Quinn in relief. "About damn time. Tell them stay there in the rose garden till Rachel gets ready."

Puck nodded and Quinn took out her phone. She texted Mercedes. Juliet came walking up.

"Have you seen Burt and Carole? I've got their flowers still."

"At the tea house," said Quinn. "That's where everyone is mostly."

Juliet nodded and she headed off towards the reception area. Blaine came in next. Quinn glared at him. He looked sheepish.

"Just wait till you see him. You'll understand why."

"If he's still got to get dressed, I am going to kick the both of you."

"No, he's quite well dressed," said Blaine. "You'll see. Is there anything I need to do?"

"Actually, you can do me a favor?" asked Quinn. "Sorry I'm... tense. There's a box and a bag in my back seat. Can you get them for me?" She handed Blaine her keys from the pocket of her sweater.

"Sure thing," smiled the black haired boy. He left the area and Quinn glared at Santana who was grinning like the Cheshire cat.

"Don't you dare tell him that I made him go get Kurt and Rachel's wedding rings."

"Not a word," said Santana. "I pick and choose my battles wisely. And my battle is karaoke this evening."

"Have plans now do you?"

Santana puffed out her chest like a proud peacock and smiled devilishly.

* * *

Tina was adjusting the back of Rachel's dress when a knock came at the door. They were in a private room of the tea house, which had been turned into a changing room. Rachel had to hold back a small smile when Mercedes had let her open her eyes when they walked into the dressing room. She knew exactly where they were. She had been to the botanical gardens and the Japanese tea room many a time with her fathers. Her friends were precious, trying to be so secretive. The Asian girl went to the door and opened it carefully.

"Ms. Corcoran," said Tina. She let the woman in.

"Shelby," said Rachel in surprise as she hugged her birth mother. "I didn't know you were coming. You didn't have to come all the way from New York."

"I wanted to sweetie," said Shelby with a smile. "Quinn called and invited me. Well, I think she secretly just wanted to put Beth in your wedding, but that's okay."

Rachel laughed. "Sounds like Quinn."

"Stand back and let me look at you," said Shelby. Rachel did so, putting her hands on her hips.

"Do you have a veil too?"

"Yes," she said. "Tina—oops, guess she stepped out. Ah, here it is," Rachel picked up the bag holding the veil that had been placed across a chair. "Tina will have to help me get it in my hair, but this is it."

"It looks prettier than it did on my iPad," said Shelby, admiring the material. The Jewish girl squeaked.

"I'm sorry, but what?" said Rachel. "How did you—"

Shelby laughed. "Oops."

"You did," stated Rachel. "You bought this? Shelby—"

"Well, your dads and your friends are giving you a wedding," said the dark haired woman. "I know I haven't been able to do much for you except for confusion and a Gaga costume, so I called and asked your Dads if you needed anything. And they said this. So I put in a rush order from your list. A _very _rush order."

"But how did you... we didn't even have to take it up or out or anything."

Shelby laughed. "When they said they'd called Kurt to get your precise measurements, I didn't think they'd be calling your fiancee."

"Husband," said Rachel, smiling and shaking her head. "We got married in New York about three months ago. Our friends just wanted to throw us a New Directions wedding."

"I uh, wow," laughed Shelby. "Like mother, like daughter I suppose."

Rachel looked up at Shelby confused, then looked down at her hand where she saw a set of rings.

"You are! You're married! Congratulations," said Rachel, bouncing up and down. "I'm happy for you. What's his name?"

"His name is Jason. Jason Hathaway." said Shelby. "And he wants to meet you. He got to meet Quinn and Puck. Now I need to introduce him to the other young woman who has changed my life."

"Aww... Mom," said Rachel. "Though I guess I'm now too old to be calling you that."

"No," said Shelby. "I'll never tire of hearing it from you Rachel. Even though I never really got to be your mother."

Rachel wrinkled her nose. "You still are." She wiped at the corner of her eye. She reached for the box of tissues sitting next to Tina's bag. "I really hope this mascara is as waterproof as they say."

Shelby smiled and took the tissue, helping Rachel dab at her eyes. "You're going to be gorgeous. Quinn has really outdone herself."

"I haven't gotten to see yet!" said Rachel. "They haven't let us in on any of the details."

"Not even the ceremony?"

"Not one detail. Quinn called me and asked if we had done vows before, and we had. That's about the only thing I know."

"Wow," said Shelby. "Secretive."

"No kidding."

"I had better let you finish getting dressed," said Shelby. Tina had come back in the room and was removing some flowers from plastic.

"For the mother of the bride," grinned Tina. "Sorry, if it's cold. Yours and Beth's flowers were in the fridge along with Rachel's."

"I've been wondering about a bouquet," said the Jewish girl.

"We didn't get you one, sorry," teased Tina. "I do have some lilies for your hair before we do your veil."

"Rachel, probably the girls have helped you with this, but you know the old adage: Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue?"

"Yes," said Rachel. "I have something new in my wedding dress and veil, thank you. Something old is the pearl combs that my grandmother left me on my Dad's side that they put my hair up with. The something blue is my strapless bra and underwear. The something borrowed well…" Rachel blushed.

"Aw, come on. Tell us," said Tina.

"I'm wearing a pair of Kurt's boxer briefs," said Rachel with a laugh, hiding her mouth behind her hands. "They're so comfortable under this dress! I wear his clothes all the time... well, when he lets me get my hands on them."

"Kurt wears boy-shorts," said Tina. "Why do I find this adorable?"

"Boxer briefs," said Rachel, correcting her. "He's very particular about that."

"Of course he would be," said Tina, rolling her eyes. "Okay, I need you to sit down so I can do the flowers."

"I'm going to go. I'll see you soon Rachel," smiled Shelby. She opened the door as Mercedes was just about to knock.

"Ms. Corcoran," said Mercedes with a smile as she hugged the former Troubletones coach.

"Mrs. Hathaway now," said Rachel, with a smile.

"You're married? Congratulations!" said the black girl with a smile. "Speaking of which, Rachel, your hubby actually has shown his butt up."

"He's your best friend you know," smirked Rachel. "And hubby?"

"Got to tease him somehow," smiled Mercedes. "I still have a lot of ground to cover before you two have made up for not telling me about this whole damn hot mess. A year and a half Rachel Berry."

Rachel laughed. "I've missed you. Can you and Sam elope and move to New York?"

Mercedes smiled. "We'll see, once we're out of school. My recording company does have a studio there. But no eloping. Kurt's designing my wedding for sure after all this." She paused. "I had better get back to Kurt. See you in a bit. Oh, and Quinn will be here in a few minutes Tina."

Tina nodded and Mercedes closed the door.

"What? You don't miss me too?" said Tina as she placed a flower in Rachel's hair.

"I already gave you that speech," smiled Rachel. "Mike's dancing would be amazing on Broadway. And you're an great actor Tina."

"I know," chuckled the Asian girl. "I think you've given that speech to practically everyone in New Directions."

"I wish I could move everyone to New York," sighed Rachel. "I know it's not a city for everyone."

"At least Chicago isn't that far away."

"True," said Rachel. "And I want tickets to the next play you're in."

"Deal," said Tina. "Same goes for you too."

"Of course," said Rachel. "Rising Broadway star." She straightened her shoulders. "That'll be one more person they can interview for my memoirs. Well, two."

Tina rolled her eyes. "Of course."

* * *

Kurt had to admit, he had never really been in the Botanical Gardens of Lima. One good thing at least, was that part of it was covered in a glass structure. It was a large dome, and from what Kurt could tell so far, one of the prettiest and greenest areas of the gardens. It was winter after all. The rose gardens were gorgeous, filled with many different varieties in various hues.

"The whole gardens is about 65 acres," said Finn. "The wedding is here, under the dome. It's got this rose garden, and another area ahead."

"It is really pretty," said Kurt, looking up at the dome. Snow was falling still from what he could tell. "Good job thinking of this place."

"It wasn't us," said Finn.

"That was me actually," said Burt. Kurt looked up to see Burt walking towards them with Hiram and Leroy and someone he didn't recognize.

"Dad," said Kurt, standing up from the bench where he had been sitting. Burt came over and hugged Kurt.

"You look great," said Burt. "Glad to see you and Blaine made it safely back."

"We did, thankfully," said Kurt. He straightened his jacket. All the sudden his stomach was in knots at the sight of Hiram and Leroy.

"Kurt, Hiram wants to talk to you for a moment," said Burt. "Rachel has a request for the wedding."

"What is it?"

"I know you two said you didn't want a religious ceremony, but Rachel has always loved a particular part of the Jewish wedding. It's called Bedeken, or veiling. Basically the groom comes up and veils the bride before the actual ceremony. She didn't think she could do it because…"

"She didn't have a veil," said Kurt smiling. "So she did get the dress then?"

"This morning."

Kurt nodded. "I don't think it would be too bad I suppose." Hiram patted him on the shoulder.

"I know you're nervous, but it's nothing you haven't already done."

"That's... reassuring," said Kurt lightly.

"Oh Kurt," said Burt. "I wanted to introduce you to Hiram and Leroy's friend Robert Morgan. He's a retired judge, and will do the ceremony."

"Lovely to meet you Kurt," said Robert, offering his hand to the brown haired countertenor. "And call me Bob please. "I did Hiram and Leroy's ceremony too."

Kurt looked behind Hiram and saw a man in black shooting photographs of them in the rose garden.

"Wow, even a photographer?"

"Your father is amazing," said Leroy. "This man has more pull in this town than the mayor, you have no idea."

Kurt smiled and shook his head. "You're impossible."

"Well, I wouldn't about to let this day go without some sort of record. Your mom would kill me."

"Dad," laughed Kurt. He hugged him.

"Thank you."

"For what? Being your dad?"

"For this. For being understanding."

"Well, as long as you and Rachel are happy, so am I," said Burt.

"Incredibly," said Kurt. "You're the best."

"So you keep telling me," said Burt. "Hey Finn, can you go tell Quinn that Kurt has agreed and get the others ready for photographs?"

"Sure," said Finn standing with a smile. He headed off.

"Speaking of your mom," said Burt. "I brought these Kurt. I thought you might want to put them in your pocket or something." His dad handed him his mom's wedding rings. He was surprised to see his Dad's plain gold band as well.

"I brought a pin," said Burt. "You know, if you wanted..."

Kurt took the safety pin with a smile. "I'd love to Dad."

"Hey Kurt," said Mercedes as she walked up beside the group. "You and Rachel both weren't paying attention and gave Quinn both your engagement rings and your wedding rings."

"Oh," frowned Kurt. "I didn't even think about it." Mercedes handed it back to him and he slid it on his finger. Mercedes giggled.

"Wearing Rachel Berry's ring."

"You hush," said Kurt, raising an eyebrow. "Pink huh?"

"Yes," said Mercedes. "Quinn's decision this time. She knew Rachel would like it. The soft pink is pretty."

"I approve," said Kurt. "I like the soft grey sash. Is this an accent color?"

Mercedes smiled. "You'll see soon enough."

* * *

Finn made it inside the tea room and his friends were mostly gathered around a couple of tables talking.

"Quinn's in with Rachel, if you're looking for her," said Puck, coming up beside him. "You alright man?"

Finn looked over and saw Juliet talking to Will and Emma. They had shown up a little earlier to see if there was anything they could do to help.

"Yeah, I think I am," said Finn. He reached over to the door frame and knocked on it three times, getting everyone's attention.

"I know not everyone is in the wedding party, so we need those who are for pictures," said Finn. "Also, Rachel—"

One of the side doors opened, and Quinn stuck her head out. "Oh good, I thought I heard you said we were ready for pictures." She stuck her head back in and opened the door. Out stepped Rachel carefully in her wedding dress, trying not to step on the long skirt. It was a tiered ballgown, in sheer ivory. The corset bodice was covered in clear jewel like crystals and metallic accents, giving it an expensive look. The skirt also had its own touches of light silver embroidery. Her jewelry were a simple silver chain and bracelet with butterfly charms. The chapel train spread out behind her as she started walking forward in sparkly silver high heels.

"Okay, wow. This is heavy." Rachel looked around and everyone was looking at her in stunned silence. Santana let out a wolf whistle that made everyone laugh.

"Why thank you Santana," said Rachel as she put a hand on her heart and wiggling her shoulders. "I think I look amazing."

"Now there's the Rachel we know and love," said Puck. "You look gorgeous babe."

"Thank you Noah," said the brown haired girl. "You look pretty handsome yourself, though Lauren might kill me for saying so."

"Nah," said Puck. "You sure you want to marry Hummel?"

"I am married to Kurt, thank you." She held up her left hand where her engagement ring sat delicately on her finger. "And I'm about to be married in two states, so I'm sure the divorce papers would be hell."

"And no, I wouldn't hurt you," said Lauren, coming up to the two of them in a white and grey dress horizontal striped dress. "But him I might if he makes anymore comments about trying to breakup you two just because he's turned on by the dress."

"I admit it, I have a weakness for babes in white."

Quinn scoffed. "You have a weakness for all women Puck."

"You look gorgeous," said Finn, coming beside them. "Really pretty Rachel."

"Thank you Finn." Her heart ached for a moment, but Finn's smile set her at ease.

"Come on Puck," said Finn. "We need to go find Kurt."

Rachel giggled. "I can't believe this is actually happening." She fanned her face and watched as the boys shrugged on their jackets and headed outside. The girls started gathering, except for Brittany and Santana, who had followed the guys out the door.

"Let me go get your sweater," said Quinn. "It's cold out there."

"I'm trying not to look Tina!" said Rachel with a laugh as the Asian girl was trying to shade her eyes. Sugar stood between Rachel and the tea room. Unique joined her, and she and Lauren made a barrier back to back.

"Well, that works much better," laughed Sugar. She patted Unique's cheek. "You look great in silver and grey."

"You should have seen my mother's face when I left with this on this morning. Thought she was going to faint at the sight of my heels."

"Well, I think you look wonderful," said Rachel. "And probably smarter than the rest of us for actually having sleeves! It's snowing."

"Yes," said Unique. "And we still have to get you across to the dome! So I am prepared." She pretended to open the clear umbrella in her hands over Rachel's head. "Now you won't mess up your pretty hair and veil."

"So who's going to take care of the rest of us?" huffed Tina. Unique shrugged.

"I don't know about you all, but I'm gettin' my weave under here with Rachel." The brown haired girl laughed as the girls started donning their jackets over their pink dresses.

"Why did we choose spaghetti strap dresses?" laughed Quinn. "It's December and it's snowing!"

"Because we're idiots," muttered Tina. She helped Quinn with Rachel's sweater.

"Alright, we just have to keep the train out of the snow." Quinn stopped and glared at Rachel. "I'm not sure you're worth all this."

"I didn't realize the train was _that_ long," whimpered Rachel. "It's much shorter on the computer screen?"

"Pray that this is your last wedding," teased Tina.

"I hope so," chuckled Rachel. "I'm not planning to marry Kurt for a _third_ time."

"I'll remind you of that," smirked Quinn. "In 25 years when you want to renew your vows."

Rachel squeaked. "But that's different!"

"No no," laughed Quinn, her eyes dancing. "You'll just have to tell Kurt that you can't renew your vows because you promised me you weren't marrying him for a third time."

"But, but..."

"Come on Rachel," said Tina as she picked up part of the train. "Don't feed the Quinn monster with your whimpering cuteness. She lives off of that you know."

"Yes, Quinn does thrive on my misery."

"Hey! I got out of that in high school," said Quinn, crossing her arms.

Rachel squeezed Quinn's elbow with a smile. "Come on, silly." The blonde rolled her eyes and picked up the other half.

"I do hope there's not a breeze," commented Sugar. "You might get a little chilly."

"I am well protected," said Rachel, shaking her hips at Tina, who giggled.

"Do we want to know?" asked Lauren to Tina.

"Probably not," she said with a laugh.

"Come on Carole, Shelby! We need you too!" said Quinn across the room. "Rachel you may have to hold your veil if it's windy. Oh Sugar, Rachel's bouquet please."

"On it," said the girl, scurrying off.

"Even I'm beginning to think I'm too much trouble," groaned Rachel.

"You're not honey," said Carole. "Pretty soon you'll be doing this for all your friends. You just the privilege of being first... twice."

"At least her other dress was short," said Tina. "And didn't involve snow." Rachel turned and squealed when she saw Sugar walking back towards her with long stemmed tulips in red and pink and cream, mixed in were Calla lilies, their white petals standing out against the tulips.

"It's gorgeous," gushed Rachel. Sugar placed them in her hands. The bouquet had been tied together with a soft pink ribbon.

"Now that we're ready, march Rachel. Just not too fast," said Quinn.

"So is this preparation for the ceremony?" teased the brown haired girl. Quinn rolled her eyes and pushed on Rachel's shoulder.

* * *

Santana and Brittany found Kurt still in the rose garden with his and Rachel's dads and Finn. Leroy had sent the other boys on down to the photo area that they had set up. Burt was talking to Hiram and he nodded when she saw Brittany and Santana.

"The girls are on their way," said Santana.

"We should probably go too then," said Leroy with a nod. He, Hiram, and Burt started to walk on. Finn moved to walk beside Kurt, but Santana stopped him.

"We need to talk to our boy. Go ahead with Burt." Finn looked strangely at Santana, but shrugged. He went on to catch up with Burt.

"Not that I mind... but why are you here?" said Kurt to Brittany.

"We're here," said Santana. "To make sure you stay upright and present."

Kurt scoffed and rolled his eyes as they started walking. They both took one of his arms. Brittany automatically started fiddling with his pocket square.

"Santana, I've already married Rachel once. I don't think I have any—"

Santana turned backwards to face him as they walked, talking low. "Kurt, Rachel's in a white wedding dress. This is just the first sign of your descent into normalcy. I know you, though I will go down to my grave before you'll ever hear me admit that ever again. You've had your Manhattan apartment and the perfect boyfriend planned for _years_. Well, you know what? You've gone and screwed that up and married Rachel instead. And pretty soon after you two have had fabulous Broadway and fashion careers you're going to be driving into suburbia and going home to a white picket fence and 2.5 children. It's going to clash with what your brain has been hard wired for. You're going to want to run, to break away. I know you married her once, but that was a quick jaunt in a coffee shop and noodles with Brittany. But this, this is _real_. This is a commitment in front of your family and your friends. I know you love Rachel and you want to do this, despite why I'll never understand. So I'm not going to let you ruin this day just because your flight or fight responsive gets stuck in the flight position. _Capiche_?"

By that time, they had reached the area of the gardens where the former New Directions had set up for photographs and Kurt felt his breath catch in his throat. His Dad and Finn and Rachel's dads had stopped and waited for him and Brittany and Santana to catch up. He paid little attention to the decorations, instead focusing on Rachel, who looked gorgeous in the middle of all their friends walking towards the photographer, who was motioning to Rachel. Santana had been partly right. The white imagery of the wedding dress was startling.

"You... you may have a valid point," he gulped. They were walking forward.

"Told ya." He felt Santana and Brittany's arms pull tighter around him.

"You three are awfully cuddly," said Mercedes in amusement as she came up beside them. She stuffed some tissues in Kurt's coat pocket.

"I have to make sure you have those."

Kurt looked skeptical. "I know I'm the crier of the group, but isn't it like sacred ritual for the bride to cry at weddings?"

"We stuffed her bra with them just in case."

"Wanky," said Santana with a smirk. Mercedes rolled her eyes.

"Why do you need to stuff her bra?" asked Brittany. "It's not like Kurt doesn't know how much Rachel has."

"She means for crying Brittany."

"Oh."

"Thanks you three," said Kurt. "Honestly. Yes, even you Santana, although we're having a talk later about your _projections._" He hugged all of them. "Go stand with Rachel. I can do this."

"You sure?" said Santana, sounding skeptical.

He sighed and straightened his jacket. "Yes." He paused. "Did I really marry Rachel Berry?"

"Yes," said Santana. "To get an apartment."

"Right, okay. Tell me I love my wife."

"You love your wife," said Mercedes. "You're just nervous." She kissed his cheek. "Rachel Hummel is adorable, and you're happy."

"You're right, I am," he said, smiling and wrinkling his nose. "Go. Shoo."

Brittany and Mercedes both giggled and obliged. Santana raised an eyebrow in his direction, but wrapped her arms around Brittany's waist and headed towards the others.

"What was that all about?" asked Finn, walking up to Kurt. "That was a lot of whispering."

"Santana and Brittany trying to be encouraging," he said. "In a Santana type of way of course." Kurt's eyes were following Rachel as she posed. Of course she would be, he smiled. Finn put his arm around Kurt's shoulders.

"Come on, let's go," said Finn. "Burt didn't want to disturb you all since it looked like you were having a pretty serious conversation."

"If by serious conversation, you mean Santana's usual badgering, then yes."

Finn smirked and they walked up to the others. His dad and Rachel's dads were leading him and Finn towards where everyone had gathered. The boys had lined up first, then the girls. Finn joined the boys and Kurt felt a couple of slaps on his back and heard Puck yell. Kurt rolled his eyes, and Quinn planted a kiss on his cheek. Mercedes was clapping and laughing at him with Tina, so he smiled back. Finally he was in front of Rachel who chuckling at him. Santana was right, the imagery did grate against everything he had ingrained in himself, but so had a lot of things that he and Rachel had gone through the last year or so. And they had made it through. Seeing Rachel dressed up like this warmed his heart and made him glad that they had come this far.

"Hi," he said after a moment. She took his hand while their friends laughed behind him.

"You look amazing and warm," said Rachel. She ran her hands down his chest. "So this is why you took off to Columbus."

"Well, you know me and fashion. I just... you look beautiful Rachel." She blushed.

"Okay you two, we do have pictures to take," yelled Quinn.

"I love you," said Rachel breathlessly.

"Love you too," said the brown haired countertenor. "So veil?"

Rachel bent her head with a coy smile. She closed her eyes and felt Kurt drape the thin material over her face. She looked back up again, still holding his hand.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"Alright, take it back off. I can't see you," he joked. Rachel laughed and placed a hand on his cheek. Hiram approached them, and Kurt realized he was whispering something to Rachel, who had her eyes closed.

Kurt yelped when Mercedes pulled on his shirt collar.

"Come on boo," said Mercedes. She nodded her head to the photographer. "He wants to do some day shots while we still have light."

"It's amazing how warm it is in here," said Kurt. He looked up. "It's snowing outside, and yet it feels like spring."

Kurt felt Rachel's arm encircle his waist. She leaned into his chest.

"Did you see the decorations behind me? They built that, Kurt."

Kurt looked up to the wall that seemed very random in the middle of trees. He hadn't paid much attention before, but the fake wall had been painted a soft pink with grey stripes. Upon it was written words in beautiful calligraphy black and silver calligraphy:

"_Once upon a time, there lived a boy and a girl who moved far, far away. And thus began their fairy tale._"

And under the word _time_, an antique styled clock hung on the wall. For the word _boy_ and _girl_, a picture of Kurt and Rachel in their costumes from _West Side Story_. Under _away_ was a picture of New York. A table was centered under_ fairy tale_, and underneath it lay a glass cloche on top of an old book, and inside lay two crowns arranged one on top of the other. A bowl of apples sat beside, with a "poisoned" black one sitting on top. A lamp made out of clear crystals stood beside it, with a decorated silver mirror on the wall above it. Antique books sat on the end, along with a set of antique locks and keys. Next to the table sat a pink love seat with a high dark wooden back. It was framed with pink curtains hanging with pearl accents. Sheer white curtains hung behind those. What made Kurt laugh however, was the six coat racks that were arranged on the wall. Small children's jackets hung on them, but the nameplates was what amused him the most. On the seven wooden nameplates were written in quirky lettering: "Artie, Blaine, Finn, Matt, Mike, Puck, and Sam."

"Snow White and the Seven New Directions," commented Kurt with a smirk. "Cute."

"They reverse," said Brittany. She went over and demonstrated. On the back of each were written the names: "Brittany, Lauren, Mercedes, Quinn, Santana, Sugar, and Tina."

"It's for pictures," said Quinn. "I thought it would be nice to have something staged instead of just the trees."

"It's gorgeous," said Rachel. "I would have never thought of this. Not in a million years."

"Well Mr. Wedding Planner?"

"So creative," said Kurt with a nod. "You all have amazed me already, and I haven't even seen the rest."

The photographer had finished taking casual shots and was motioning for Kurt and Rachel to come forward. Rachel took Kurt's hand and they walked towards the photographer and his assistant who had joined him.

After more than a few rounds of photos, guests were starting to arrive. Quinn had pulled out a small notepad out of her sweater on her arm.

"Okay Joe, you go light the candles in front and the luminaries. Brittany, you and Santana go scatter the tulip petals on the aisle runner. Sam, you and Finn go get set up. Unique, you can go greet and direct people not to walk down the middle. Oh and you're going to take Matt's place doing the sound system right Lauren?" The bespectacled girl nodded.

"It's one of the ones from the high school. I could run that thing with my eyes closed."

Quinn smiled. "Guess you're joining us up front then Matt. Like old times."

Matt laughed. "Definitely old times now isn't it?"

"Too long," said Mike. "Hey Quinn, do we have the stuff for the… you know."

"Sitting down in the tea house," said Quinn. "Good catch Mike. Would you?"

He nodded to Quinn and took off.

"Alright, everyone, go to your places and get ready!" said Quinn. All the New Directions started to scatter. The only ones left where Kurt, Rachel, and Mercedes. The adults had already headed to the ceremony area to meet people as they came in to the gardens.

Shelby walked up to Quinn a few minutes later, holding Beth by the hand.

"I think Beth will be alright," said Shelby. "We walked through things before they started putting down the petals. She will be walking to you right?"

"Yes," said Quinn. "And you'll be seated on the front row with Rachel's family. She can come to you if you'd like afterwards."

"No, I couldn't," said Shelby. "I'm not—"

"Yeah, you are," said Quinn. "Rachel's dads already agreed." Shelby looked touched at the gesture.

"Hi Beth," said Rachel with a smile.

"Our youngest New Directions member," said Mercedes. "She is adorable."

"I am cute, not adorable," said Beth with a giggle.

"She is killing me with her cuteness," said Kurt in amusement. The little girl ran up to Rachel.

"Can I see your flowers?"

"Sure sweetie," said Rachel. She bent down and was pointing out the different ones to Beth.

"So are you two ready?" asked Quinn. "Last chance to back out."

Rachel snorted. "Back out? After all this? I need a wedding after all this secrecy."

"By the way Quinn?" began Kurt. _Wicked_? Really? Did you think you were going to get away with that?"

Mercedes looked smug. "That was mine and Juliet's idea, actually."

Kurt looked scandalized. "Mercedes! Did you really think we'd fall for it?"

"No, it was just meant to confuse you," said the black girl with a smile. "And to keep you from going to McKinley. It worked, didn't it?"

"Like a charm," said Quinn. "Come on," she said to Rachel and Kurt. "I've got the perfect spot for you to be while we wait for all the guests to arrive. "It's close to the ceremony. Mercedes and I will come join you once we run through and make sure everything's ready to go. Kurt, you may have to help Rachel with her train."

"Aren't the bridesmaids supposed to march in before me?" said Rachel. "Because everyone scattered."

"I am your maid of honor," smirked Quinn. "Sorry you didn't get to choose from all of us," she said with a sad smile. "But we have a plan I think you both will like."

"Say hi to your best woman," said Mercedes, putting her hand on her hip. "I figured you'd like this better than Finn."

Kurt mouthed a silent "thank you." Quinn motioned and they followed her to a tiny clearing away from the seating area. It was far enough back that they couldn't see anything, but could hear Lauren playing some slow classical music.

"We'll be back," said Quinn. "It's 20 till 5. We'll be back in ten minutes. Kurt, you and Mercedes will be going out first."

Kurt nodded and they took off.

"Alone at last," said Rachel with a smile.

"Not for long," said Kurt. "But it's nice isn't it?" Rachel nodded and looked up at the dome. The sun was beginning to set, and she could see the lights starting to illuminate the area where their ceremony would be, along with the occasional flicker of a candle.

Kurt took Rachel's hand. He saw Rachel move to wipe her eyes.

"Oh don't you dare start crying," said Kurt. "Or you'll have me crying too."

"At least you're not wearing makeup," laughed Rachel. Kurt took a tissue out of his pocket and handed it to her.

"Thanks," she said, wiping her eyes. She fingered the rings on his jacket.

"Your Mom's?"

"And Dad's," said Kurt. "He thought it was appropriate."

"Aww," said Rachel. "It's very sweet." They both watched as Mercedes and Quinn walked back towards them. More music started to play. Quinn motioned for them to walk back, and Kurt chuckled and helped Rachel with her dress as they walked.

"Be glad it's not a full train," he chided her. "I warned you."

She huffed and smiled at him.


	15. Chapter 15

AN: Happy early Valentine's Day to those who celebrate. :)

* * *

"It's nice being outdoors but yet indoors isn't it?" said Mercedes to Kurt as they moved closer together for the ceremony.

"This was a good idea," agreed the countertenor. It was warm and inviting compared to the snow.

"Clear indeed," sighed Rachel from behind Kurt. "I wonder what weather forecast Daddy was watching this morning when he heard that."

Quinn was holding Rachel's flowers while Kurt turned and helped her adjust her wedding attire. The blonde's eyes were dancing in amusement as Kurt placed her veil forward again.

"It's funny. There would have been many a time when we wished we could put something over your face."

"Haha," said Rachel. "I know my determination and fierceness for my want of Broadway did not make me friends in the beginning."

"Or any," added Mercedes.

"But I have you all now," said Rachel. She lifted the veil. "Okay, I am not going through the whole ceremony with this over my face. I'm going to have Daddy lift it up after we walk down the aisle."

"Good plan," said Kurt in humor. "I could be marrying the Cookie Monster for all I know."

"Well, the Cookie Monster has been eating his fruits and vegetables," teased Mercedes.

"I do know for a fact that Rachel when she's feeling a little blue eats more than her fair share of Kurt's cookies when he makes them," smirked Quinn as she bumped Rachel's shoulder.

"And my private stash," muttered Kurt.

"What is this, pick on Rachel day?" said the brunette with a sigh.

"Yes," said Mercedes. "It's pick on Rachel Berry day, because it's our last one. Oh honey, don't you start with those tears." She went and hugged Rachel's shoulders. "You're going to be Rachel Hummel now."

Rachel sniffed. "Only on official documents. I will sign all autographs Rachel Berry. And don't tell me you won't be signing yours Mercedes Jones or Quinn Fabray."

Mercedes laughed. "Yeah, Mercedes Evans just doesn't have the same sound does it? Don't tell Sam that though."

"I can't wait to plan your wedding," said Kurt. "Whenever Sam decides to actually get on with it."

"He's been hinting," said Mercedes. "Maybe after school." She paused. "I think he wants to be a lifeguard. I mean, really?"

"Well, he's got the perfect body for it," said Rachel. No one could argue with that.

"You two did great on the flowers," commented Kurt after a few moments to Quinn and Mercedes. "I love the tulips."

"We know," said Quinn. "And roses. But the garden is full of them."

"I saw," said Kurt. "I'm glad the photographer took photos there. I can't wait to see how they turn out. By the way, the wrist corsages that the other girls are wearing was a neat idea."

The music changed, and they watched as Joe and Sam was leading the parents in by sets. Kurt was glad that he was nowhere near his Dad at the moment, because they probably both would be saying something about his mom and be a little red eyed. Carole waved to him and he laughed to himself. He was grateful for Carole sticking by his Dad, even though the whole setup had been under false pretenses that did not make sense at all now. Rachel looked over to Quinn.

"I love the bottles, that is gorgeous. It looks like real flames,"

"Fairies in a bottle."

"Okay," said Kurt. "Now that's creative. How—"

"The internet."

"Of course," said Kurt. "You did your research, didn't you."

"But of course," mimicked Quinn with a smile. Leroy Berry came up from the side and took Rachel's arm. The music changed again, this time to _Canon in D Major_ by Pachelbel.

"Okay Mercedes, that's your cue. Take him up front, would you please?" smirked Quinn.

"Isn't it like tradition for the groom to be up front already?" asked Rachel.

"We changed things up a bit," said Quinn. "Couldn't be completely traditional. And we do have a slightly smaller wedding party because of reasons."

"Come on boy," said Mercedes. She linked her arms through Kurt's.

"Walk slow and precise," instructed Mercedes in Kurt's ear. "Make sure we don't crush _all_ the petals before Rachel walks down the aisle."

"How much money did you guys spend on flowers?" murmured Kurt.

"Ask your Dad. He has the bill."

"Then I'll never know," sighed Kurt. He looked around as they stepped onto the aisle runner. The grey fabric stretched across the trees made a light canopy over the ceremony area, and the lights illuminated the area with a warm hue. The dome's lights had been lowered, but it was still bright enough to give visibility beyond the candlelight. They walked carefully forward, and Kurt saw all the New Directions standing up front, like a choir. He laughed to himself when he realized what they were doing. Artie and Tina both were grinning like idiots as they came to a stop in front of them. Mercedes pretended to swat at Tina, who hid her mouth behind her hand as she held in a giggle unsuccessfully.

Next to them stood the retired judge and behind him, a white archway covered with the sheer grey fabric and more lights with ivy. A large tulip and Calla lily arrangement stood near it, and candelabras and more flowers on pedestals were arranged around the seating area. Quinn marched in next, coming to a rest on the opposite side of Kurt and Mercedes. Everyone was in awe when Beth came walking in by herself. Quinn motioned for her to come forward and she came right to Quinn, almost as perfect in posture as her birth mother. She presented the ring bearer pillow to Quinn, who took it with a smile and passed her off to Shelby on the front row.

The music changed to _Ode to Joy_ by Beethoven and the audience stood as the wedding officiant raised his hands. They turned to watch as Rachel stepped into the ceremony area. Kurt watched out of the corner of his eye as Quinn took Rachel's ring off the pillow and handed it to Mercedes to do the same. Mercedes handed it off to Tina behind her. But Kurt lost track as Rachel was stunning walking towards him in her wedding dress. They both exchanged the _h__ow did we get caught up in this?_ look when she came up beside him. Rachel smiled softly and turned to face him as Leroy lifted up her veil and kissed her cheek. He went and sat down beside Hiram, and took his hand.

"Honored guests," began the retired judge. "We are gathered here this evening to bring together this couple, Rachel Berry and Kurt Hummel once more in holy matrimony. A famous person once said: "Happy is the man who finds a true friend, and far happier is he who finds that true friend in his wife." A few laughs came from the New Directions members, which earned them a glare from Rachel. "And judging by the laughs from their closest friends and what I have heard this afternoon from everyone, I would say this is the case. Kurt and Rachel have been the best of friends, even moving in together in New York. Such a hard thing, moving to a city that is as ruthless and cruel to those with no determination, no will to persevere, and no hopes and dreams. But they have persevered, and together, have come out the better for it. Their marriage will be based on the trust of knowing that they can make it through anything as long as they have each other."

Kurt squeezed Rachel hand and they smiled. That was one thing they knew quite well. They had been through a lot together, and it was comforting knowing they had someone to turn to when the seas got rough. They intertwined their fingers and Kurt leaned into Rachel's bare shoulder.

"One thing that a marriage does is bind a couple together as one unit, and in that spirit, I will ask that the couple to take their right and left hands together—well, I see you two are ahead of us already." A few chuckles came from the audience as Robert Morgan began to speak once more.

"I also learned this afternoon that these two was afraid that their love would not be accepted by those that they had loved. So with some thought, their friends and family wanted to show how they approve wholeheartedly by binding them together. Hand fasting is an old tradition, passed down from the Celtics, which began as a temporary marriage pact. But it now has developed into a wedding vow that has been passed down through the generations as sacred tradition..."

Kurt looked quickly at Blaine, who was smirking and holding a ribbon. In fact, most of them were holding their own some in an assortment of colors, about two feet in length.

"Remind me to kick Blaine Warbler later," Kurt whispered quietly in Rachel's ear as. The brown haired girl didn't bother to respond as she handed her bouquet for Quinn to hold.

"Would the first one come up please? Then the others may follow as they finish."

Santana walked up to the pair with a red ribbon. Rachel could already see where this was going and did her best not to giggle as the Latina stood in front of them. Santana would do everything she could to embarrass the both of them in front of everyone, especially Kurt. Even her voice dripped with sex as she purred out her words. "Red. For strength. For passion. For lust and fertility. May there be a lot of the former AND the latter." Even the tips of Kurt's were red as Rachel reached over and kissed his cheek, which amused the wedding guests. Santana tied the ribbon around their wrists and strutted back to the others.

It was fitting that Brittany was next. "Orange. For encouragement, attraction, and kindness. And for the marriage to be fruitful," laughed Brittany. She tried the ribbon on their hands with a wink and bounced back towards Santana.

Tina was next. She draped the ribbon around them. "Yellow. For confidence, charm, and joy. And maybe a little sunshine for Kurt once in a while." She tied it with a smile.

Artie came rolling up carefully, waving a green ribbon. "Green. For finances, which we all need, and for charity and prosperity." He tied the ribbon around Kurt and Rachel's hands near the top of their wrists.

Mike was next, carrying a royal blue ribbon. He tied it first, and held their wrists. "Blue. For Tranquility, patience, devotion, and sincerity. Because marriage isn't an easy road to take." Rachel and Kurt both smiled softly at their friend as he took off back to Tina's side.

Kurt laughed when Mercedes came up in front of them, shaking her own ribbon. "Purple. For power, which really these two divas have plenty of." This sent most of the New Directions and a few members of the audience into laughs. "For piety, and sentimentality. And don't you start crying Kurt, because L.A. is too far from New York." Kurt poked out his lip and she squeezed his shoulder as she went back to his side.

Sam was next, pulling a brown ribbon out of his coat pocket. "Brown. For grounding, and for talent. For telepathy and home. Though these two don't need telepathy. They already know what each other is thinking anyways."

The "Amen" from Mercedes earned her an unseen elbow from Kurt.

Sugar was next with a pink ribbon. She waved it with a giggle and a big smile. "Pink. For unity and truth and honor. But mostly for romance and happiness. Because you two are adorable and deserve to be happy together." Rachel laid a hand on her heart as Sugar Motta tied it around their wrists.

Kurt's heart skipped and he felt Rachel rubbing his fingers as Blaine stepped forward, holding a grey ribbon. He smiled softly. "Grey. For neutrality, for balance. For acceptance." He tied the ribbon tightly around Kurt and Rachel's hands. Kurt grabbed for Blaine's hand before he pulled away and he squeezed it before he turned and walked back towards Sam.

Finn stepped forward, holding a black ribbon. This time, it was Kurt holding Rachel's hand tighter. The taller boy looked at the both of them with a smile. "Black. For wisdom, vision, and success. Which I know you both will have in leaps and bounds. As step-brother and brother-in-law I claim your first official autographs." He tied the ribbon around their hands and kissed Rachel's.

Quinn moved from Rachel's side, handing her small bouquet and Rachel's to Mercedes. She untied a white ribbon from her flowers and tied it around their hands. "White. For purity, for meditation, and for concentration. For peace. Because we all know you two will argue your heads off at each other. Remember that you love one another and that a fight is not the end but a bump in the road to be handled together." Rachel smiled as Quinn took her place and the bouquets back from Mercedes.

Kurt and Rachel heard movement from behind them and saw Burt standing up, a silver ribbon in his hand. He came around in front of them. "21 years fly by fast." Burt laughed. "I never thought I'd be seeing someone in your life so soon Kurt. But Rachel's a good kid. And I'm sorry, but that's all you two will ever be to me. Best friends who'd go in and out of the house everyday with songs on your lips and Broadway in your dreams." He tied the ribbon around their hands. "Silver for treasure, values, creativity, and inspiration. Because I know you'll both need all of that in your careers in New York. Don't ever forget who you are." He squeezed Kurt's shoulder and kissed Rachel on the cheek. A sniff was heard from Kurt and Rachel reached into his pocket with her other hand and handed him a tissue.

Hiram and Leroy stood, and Kurt handed it back to her. Anything her Dads said would definitely make her cry. Leroy began to speak with a smile. "Gold for our baby girl. Ever since you were little, you've always loved gold stars. Energy, wealth, intelligence, longevity... It is only a few of the things we wish for you while you pursue your dreams. Dreams that include your best friend and soulmate. When you first told us before Christmas, you have no idea how you surprised us. But it made more sense the more we thought about it. You found your best friend before you found your partner. You are lucky sweetheart that you have each other, because not everyone finds the one whose heart matches theirs." Hiram tied the gold ribbon around their hands and he squeezed both their shoulders.

"Now that we've tied our lovely couple up," said the wedding official with a smile. "We will continue with the reading of the vows. Would you please Ms. Berry?"

"Wow. Okay. Sorry Kurt, I'm going to edit a little," said Rachel. "Didn't think I would be doing this again when we first made these in New York." Kurt laughed softly at Rachel. "When we began our friendship, we really didn't know what we were doing," said the Jewish girl. "After being annoyed at each other for so long, it took almost a whole summer together to make us realize how much we really did have in common besides just being rivals. We did everything in tandem practically, although why I have no idea," smirked Rachel. "It seems that even before we knew it, we were stuck together. Kurt, you've always been my best friend. Even though more than a few long crying sessions and multiple things of organic blackberry cheesecake ice cream, we came to the conclusion that everyone else has in this past week. Complete and utter acceptance of what was happening between us. You know I love you, honey. You've been my best friend, my soulmate, and hopefully one day my future partner on Broadway. But until then, I'll just settle on calling you my husband. And sweetie if I want your stash of cookies or the extra bread stick."

This got a laugh from the audience as Kurt shook his head. Rachel grinned and squeezed his hand as he pointed at her and spoke to the audience.

"She says this because she knows she's the one who stole my last piece of chocolate cake during finals. Do not come between a man and his chocolate when he's stressed."

"I thought it was cheesecake," blurted out Finn. He looked sheepish for doing so.

"That too," said Kurt, pointing at his step-brother.

The former New Directions members finally lost it and cracked up, which made Kurt and Rachel both laugh along with their friends. The wedding official was doing his best to hide a smile as the wedding guests chuckled too. Kurt picked up his and Rachel's hands tied together and swung them gently.

"When I was little, I used to watch my Mom and Dad interacting, especially in the kitchen. It made me happy to see them happy, especially when Mom would smile and pretend to be annoyed when she'd smack his hands with a spoon for sneaking food before dinner. Sorry Dad. When she died, my Dad was no longer happy in the kitchen," said Kurt. "It made me sad because I thought there was nothing that I could do to make Dad happy again. So I tried to cook like Mom. Well, that was a disaster for an eight year old if you can imagine. But it got us both into the kitchen again. And Dad was smiling." Kurt sighed and looked up for a moment. "I know that feeling Rachel, the thought of never seeing the one you love ever being happy again. I saw it in your eyes when I didn't get into NYADA. I saw it again whenever you'd come back crying fro dates with idiots who didn't know you as the wonderful, talented person you are. And for whatever reason, I got in my head that I wanted to make sure I never saw that in your eyes again. You are so beautiful Rachel, and I never want to see pain in your eyes. I don't want to think that there's nothing that I could do to make you happy again. So yes, that even means making you my wife. And letting you have my last piece of chocolate cake."

"Oh Kurt," whimpered Rachel at his changes to his vow. She mouthed "thank you."

"Now we shall have the exchange of rings," said the judge. Mercedes placed Rachel's ring in Kurt's left hand, between his thumb and forefinger. He frowned when he realized he'd have to do it one handed. Rachel chuckled and held up her left hand.

"Now repeat after me," said the wedding official.

_With this ring, I give you my oath  
that from this day forward  
you shall not walk this world alone.  
May my heart be your shelter  
and my arms be your home._

Kurt did so, and carefully placed their wedding ring on Rachel's finger. Rachel admired it for a moment, having missed the weight of it on her hand. Quinn handed her Kurt's ring, and with the same vow, placed the ring on Kurt's left hand carefully.

"And by the power vested in my by the state of Ohio, I do declare thee Kurt and Rachel Hummel, husband and wife. Normally this is where I'd tell you to kiss the bride, but your friends have requested a song before we end the ceremony."

"Do we get to sing too?" teased Rachel.

"Nah," said Mercedes as she and Quinn walked up to their friends. "Let us do this one just this once Berry?"

"It's a good one. We promise," said Quinn. "An oldie for most of us."

The familiar strands of _Somebody to Love_ by Queen came over the sound system and Rachel and Kurt laughed and swung their tied hands together. Quinn and Mercedes sung lead with Artie, and they sounded amazing. It was almost like the old group was back together, but other faces made it feel different, richer. They finished the song to much applause. Both Kurt and Rachel smiled at their friends, though Kurt's tears were threatening to fall as Rachel nudged him.

"Well," said the judge with a smile. "Since it seems that you both have definitely found the one you love, you may now kiss the bride."

Rachel practically laughed into the kiss when Santana and Puck both gave loud whoops of cheer in front of them as the audience applauded. She pulled closer, resting their tied hands on Kurt's shoulder as she kissed him back.

"Sorry," she said as they broke apart. "Puck and Santana got me." She kissed his cheek. He bopped her nose.

"You can make up for it later," murmured Kurt as they both heard music start to play. Quinn walked forward and whispered in his ear.

"You're walking Rachel out. We'll be behind you. Not that you have much choice really," smirked Quinn. Kurt nodded and with their tied hands, made their way carefully down the aisle as their wedding guests clapped happily. Rachel was sure she could still hear Brittany cheering from the front of the seating area. As they passed the last row of seats and flowers and got away from the guests, Kurt and Rachel turned to each other and burst into laughter.

"Oh my god," laughed Kurt. Rachel was still in a fit of giggles when Mercedes and Quinn walked out arm in arm next to them.

"You two okay?" asked Mercedes.

"We're fine—fine," laughed Rachel, trying to stop. Kurt straightened up as Rachel was fanning her face and dabbing her eyes with a tissue. Kurt did the same thing with his.

"Okay Quinn, hands," said Rachel as their parents approached. "We need out." The blonde chuckled and began undoing all the ribbons as the photographer who had been taking pictures in the ceremony took more of them. The house lights on the dome had gone back up, and people were starting to file out. The rest of the New Directions surrounded them, as did Mr. Schue and Emma.

"Good job with the song," said Will, clapping Artie on the shoulder. "Even now, you all still sound amazing."

"Thanks Mr. Schue," said Finn. "Couldn't have done it without you."

"And done," said Quinn with a smile. She tucked the ribbons in Kurt's coat pocket. He rubbed his wrist as did Rachel, who squealed and jumped at Kurt. He managed to catch her around the waist, but just barely.

"You're heavy," he chided. "That dress is—"

"I don't care," said Rachel breathlessly. She kissed him softly.

Brittany came up to Kurt and Rachel, bouncing happily.

"You've just been married by the New Directions. How do you feel?"

"Like going home to New York," said Rachel with a smile.

Brittany pouted. "We have to go back to class don't we?"

"Unfortunately," said Kurt. "It's been nice having this break wasn't it Britt-Britt?"

"It was a good Christmas. I got to do a lot of fun stuff," she smiled. "And we still have New Years in Times Square."

The wedding guests started to come by and congratulate the pair on their day. Emma and Will were both the first to hug them and wish them well. Unique was doing her job as host and directing the guests to the tea house for the reception dinner as Joe and Sam were putting out all the lit candles around the seating area. After everyone had gone to the tea house or left besides a few of the former New Directions, Rachel wrapped her arms around Kurt's neck. The photographer had just finished taking photos of them all, and Rachel smiled at her husband.

"Our friends did this."

"I know. They're also wanting us to go to the reception. I think I heard something about cake. And food. And possibly inebriating beverages."

"Hey."

Kurt looked to his left, and he felt Rachel tense up. Not that he blamed her much. While David had become a gentler person, his previous bullying still had an effect on most everyone in the glee club.

"David, hi."

Karofsky stuck his hands in his pockets and looked sideways at Rachel. "You look gorgeous Rachel. That dress looks great."

"Thank you... David," she said, trying to force a smile as she moved from her position. "Thank you for coming. I—"

"Kurt's Dad told my Dad at the grocery store," said Karofsky. "Dad couldn't believe it. I couldn't either, so I thought I'd come see for myself. You two look happy."

The brown haired countertenor took Rachel's hand and held it in his own. "We are. How's— how's school?"

"Good," said David. "Really good. I'll be graduating at the end of the year. Thinking about getting my Masters. Not sure yet. You?"

"Good," said Kurt. "I still have one more year. So does Rachel. Broadway and all, you know?"

"Maybe someday I can come see you onstage," said David. "I had better go. You have a dinner to get to. Congratulations."

Kurt nodded as David walked away at a slow pace. Rachel breathed easier.

"Rachel, he's okay now."

"I know," said the Jewish girl with a sad smile. "It's still hard not to think about him slamming you into lockers and leaving bruises. There's also the little matter of threatening your life. You don't realize how much we were all worried about you when he was harassing you so much. And he slushied and threatened all of us too, you know."

The cold thoughts of a slushie invaded Kurt's thoughts and he shuddered.

"You two okay?" said Mike with a frown. He had seen Karofsky as he and Tina brought Kurt and Rachel their jacket and sweater.

"Fine," said Rachel. "Just bad memories. We need to make better ones." She hung onto Mike's arm. "So what's this I hear about food?"

"Waiting in the teahouse," said Sam as he walked up with his arm around Mercedes. "Now hurry up, we're hungry."

"So am I," said Rachel. "I don't even remember eating since this morning. You Kurt?"

"Coffee," he answered automatically. "In the car on the way to Columbus."

"We'll get you fixed up shortly," said Mercedes. "You two have to cut your wedding cake though. It looks delicious."

"We do have cake?" perked up Kurt.

"And cheesecake," said Tina with a grin.

"Please tell me there's no coffee down there or he's never going to sleep tonight," sighed Rachel.

"I was under the impression that the bride and groom didn't sleep after weddings anyways," said Puck, coming up beside Rachel with a wide smirk. "You know, all that marital bliss on your wedding night."

"Noah," chided Rachel with a small smile. "Why didn't you participate in the hand fasting ceremony?"

"Oh. That," said Puck with a shrug. "Yeah." He looked sheepish. "I was um, in a broom closet when they started deciding on who was doing that."

"And why were you in a closet?" asked Kurt, curiously.

He glowered. "Making out with Lauren. All this wedding nonsense and she's dropping hints. There's no way this Puckerman will ever be tied down." He headed off to the tea house with a swagger of his hips.

"Engagement ring before the end of next year. I'm calling it," said Kurt.

"Noooo, we can't start a second betting pool," whined Sam. "I've got too much riding on the first one we already made this week."

"Sam!" yelped Mercedes, swatting at his shoulder. "I love you honey, but we have got to work on you keeping your mouth shut."

"So betting pool," said Kurt as he turned to look at his other best friend who was looking at him with wide, pretending to be innocent eyes. Rachel was standing with a hand on her hip, looking skeptical. "What is the first one, pray tell?"

Everyone except Kurt and Rachel whistled and walked off quickly.

"Hey!" yelled Kurt after them, but Mercedes turned and waved and Brittany blew him a kiss.

"Come on you two," said Tina, grabbing both their hands.

* * *

A water feature and a lighted koi pond greeted Kurt and Rachel as they approached the tea house. Tina opened the door and Brittany welcomed them in. They were greeted with quite a sight from their view in the small entryway. Inside the Japanese tea house the former New Directions members had turned it into wonderland of senses. Fairy lights lined the ceiling all the way across, giving the large room a warm glow next to the dark wood of the ceiling and walls. All the tables were covered in black tablecloths, lined with grey and pink runners. Grey napkins lay beside crisp white plates with black outlines ready for every guest. Name card holders in the shape of silver glittering apples sat in the center of every plate. Tulips and Calla lilies stood white frosted glass vases in the middle of the long tables, on which were scattered mirrors and pink glass stones with votive candles sat flickering. Butterflies in pink, white, grey, and black made for interesting art pieces on the walls and decorations on the chairs. Antique books, locks and keys lay on table tops around the room as decoration for the fairy tale theme. It was a lot to take in as there was a lot of antique style decorations, but something else caught Rachel's attention and it made Kurt laugh when she nudged him about it. Across a dance floor was a karaoke setup, and Unique was on the mic.

"And let's welcome ladies and gentlemen our lovely bride and groom! Sorry, but your wedding party are already snacking on the hor d'oeuvres. Apparently some boys couldn't wait."

Finn looked embarrassed. "I was hungry!"

"Let him eat," said Kurt. "He's already been cleaning out Dad and Carole's pantry already this week." He gave his step-brother a smirk. This got a few laughs from the guests, who had turned to greet the two. Juliet came up and gave Kurt and Rachel both a hug.

"You two were gorgeous."

"Thank you," gushed Rachel. "But this place is really pretty. And I smell really good things coming from that direction."

"Thank your Dads," said Juliet. "They got the catering and the open bar. Speaking of which," said Juliet. "Kurt, I think there is a Shirley Temple with our names on it in the future."

"That does sound delightful," he said with a smile. "I'm assuming you've already been testing out the waters?"

"Just one. Maaaaybe two," she said with a smirk. "Also, try the crab stuffed mushrooms. They're wonderful. There's also prosciutto & grilled asparagus and roasted tomato caprese for appetizers."

"Sounds wonderful," said Rachel. Quinn came up beside them.

"Come on you two, let's get you seated so the caterers can start dinner."

"I'll get you some of the starters," smiled Juliet as Quinn gestured to the head table where Mercedes and their families were sitting. Rachel laughed as Quinn sat down next to Mercedes. Sam was making sad, pouty eyes at his fiancee.

"Look at the little apples," said Kurt with a whimper. He held his up for Rachel to see. She leaned hers into his and they both tried to ignore the flash of the camera around them. "Those are cute place cards."

Juliet brought them a plate of the appetizers and two glasses of what looked to be champagne. Kurt could feel the fizz coming off his as he heard Hiram on his left stand and gently tap a knife on the side of the water glass beside him. Unique passed off a mic to him.

"First, I'd like to welcome everyone who was smart enough to stay for dinner, which is almost all of you. Not that I blame you for not turning down a free meal." More than a few laughs were heard scattered through the crowd. Rachel scanned the faces in the room, recognizing a few members of her Dads' families they still had contact with. She noticed more than a few of Kurt's, and was shocked to see Principal Figgins and his wife sitting on the other side of Will and Emma. What had really surprised her however, was seeing Jesse St. James on the other side of Shelby and looking wistfully in her direction. She looked away and paid attention to her Daddy, who had started speaking again.

"Second, I would like to thank my daughter's friends who despite the insurmountable odds working against them, mostly the fact that my own child and her wonderful husband didn't let anyone know till right before Christmas that they were even considering each other as partners, somehow managed to pull together this spectacular evening. With the bride and groom's families helping of course."

"Thank you Daddy," said Rachel with a big smile as she raised her glass. Kurt repeated the motion before giving his Dad a warm smile. The guests were clapping politely.

"Finally," said Leroy, putting his arm around Hiram's waist as he stood beside him. "We'd like to make a toast to Rachel and Kurt, for which we wouldn't be all here. I wish you two all the happiness while you pursue your careers in New York. Watch each other's backs, and Rachel, try not to kill your husband too much when you go to auditions. He knows where and how you sleep."

This got a snort from Mercedes as Leroy passed off the mic to Burt. Rachel took a bite of the tomato caprese and was surprised by how fresh the tomato and mozzarella was.

"To Rachel, the woman who stole my son's heart," said Burt, holding up his water glass. "You're getting a good man. I hope I've raised him well enough to treat you right." Rachel nudged Kurt when he let out a small indignant snort. "If he starts to bother you too much, just give me a call and I'll help you keep him in line."

"Hey!"

"That goes for you too baby girl," chuckled Leroy. "If she gets to be too much of a pain Kurt, please call us and we'll help with her overzealousness." Kurt smiled broadly at Hiram and Leroy while Rachel crossed her arms with a sigh. He rubbed her shoulder and Kurt kissed her on the cheek with a smile.

"Does that count for her friends too?" yelled Santana.

"No!" yelled back Rachel, giving the girl a grin and a glare. The former New Directions all started laughing at Santana and Rachel matching smirks.

The servers started bringing around the dishes for guests who had already ordered, and menus for those who hadn't. Rachel read over the menu while Kurt nibbled on one of the small bundles of prosciutto & grilled asparagus. She snuck a piece of the grilled asparagus from Kurt as she read the menu. Rachel sighed and gave the menu to her husband.

"I guess I should be grateful that my dads at least found catering with a vegan option on such really short notice, but it has marinara sauce." She looked down at her dress with a sigh.

"Order it anyway," said Kurt as he handed the menu back to her. Rachel looked at it again as she felt something being draped across her shoulders. She looked up and saw him sitting back down. The black velvet and silk material of his jacket was soft to the touch on her bare skin.

"Kurt, you shouldn't do that," she said with a smile. She noticed the intricate silver and black vest that had been hidden under the jacket. He was adjusting the square silver buttons on the front, smoothing the material.

"You always amaze me with your finds," said Rachel as she felt of the vest.

"It was a lucky find," chuckled the brown haired countertenor. "I think it'll look better over a black dress shirt, but luck was not on my side in finding a suitable one for this evening."

"I think you look wonderful in white," said Rachel. "So I say you look perfect."

Kurt gave her a half smile as he motioned to the jacket around her shoulder.

"Just be careful," said Kurt. "That jacket and these pants could pay our rent for half a year."

Rachel squeaked. "Kurt!"

"It was a gift."

"From who, Donald Trump?"

Kurt laughed. "You probably wouldn't believe me."

"Try me."

"Sue Sylvester."

"You're right. I don't believe you."

Kurt took a drink of the champagne as a member of the catering staff approached Rachel to ask her choice for dinner.

"I'll take the eggplant Parmesan, the broccoli au gratin and herb & mushroom couscous. My dear darling husband will have the grilled salmon with lime butter, the herb & mushroom couscous, and a piece of the apple caramel cheesecake."

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Ordering for me now are you?"

"You're whipped boy, just accept it and move on," said Mercedes from next to Quinn.

"I always order for you when we get take out," smiled Rachel sweetly.

"You're just lucky you ordered the cheesecake," said Kurt.

"As much as I'd love to indulge with you in the cheesecake, I am saving room for our cake," said Rachel. "Although I'm sure it's not even remotely anywhere within my dietary standards."

"Our cake?" said Kurt. "I haven't seen—"

"Kurt," said Rachel amused. "Have you not even noticed our wedding cake right next to us?" She turned Kurt towards the edge of the table and over to the right was a six layer cake, done in black and white repeating layers, each getting smaller the higher it went up. Along the edges of the square cake layers were silhouettes of a New York cityscape done in black on the white layers, white on the black ones. Black piping with dots on the black layers and white piping with dots on the white ones crisscrossed across then surface of the cake. On top was one black crown and white tiara done in gum paste and decorated with curlicues of sugar. On the middle layers, a large decorative "KRH" was affixed to the cake, with the H larger than the K and R. Large sugar pearls the size of a fingernail gleamed from the cake in random piles on the various layers.

"It's striking," said Kurt. He blinked. "And beautiful. What kind of cake is it and would it be wrong of me to go up to it and poke at it right now?"

"Chocolate hazelnut and Italian cream," said Quinn. She placed a hand on Rachel's shoulder and leaned over. "Maybe after dinner. Mike wanted to see you cut the cake with a sword, but I managed to talk him out of it." Kurt noticed the gleam in Rachel's eyes.

"Don't you even think what I know you're thinking."

"You'd look good in chocolate Kurt."

"You are not putting cake anywhere on my face Rachel."

"I didn't say anything about putting it on your face." Rachel reached up and ruffled his hair.

"... I hate you." He mumbled and moved to fix it with a glare.

Quinn snorted and turned back to her chicken Marsala.

The servers came around with the rest of dinner as Kurt took a bite of the crab stuffed mushroom appetizer. Two glasses of white wine appeared with their dinner.

"A special vintage bottle," said Hiram. "Just for tonight." He raised his glass to the both of them.

"This is delicious," said Rachel to Kurt after tasting her entree. She fed him a bite of her thick cut fried eggplant, and he nodded his approval. Sitting in the middle of the head table gave them both a great view of all their friends and family who had came. Tina and Mike were being all lovey, and Sam kept making eyes at Mercedes. Blaine was talking to Artie and Puck about something in hushed tones. All the others were chatting happily, catching up on their lives. Kurt wondered where Finn had gotten off too till he saw him and Juliet on the other side of Carole at their table. He noticed Quinn stealing glances over that way, but shrugged it off as he fed Rachel a bite of the apple caramel cheesecake, which was amazing. Even the caramel had been made by hand.

After it seemed like dinner was close to being eaten by everyone, a light rap came from the side of a water glass as Mercedes and Quinn stood up beside them. Mercedes smiled brightly at Sam, who had just turned away from having an epic bread battle with Mike, much to the amusement of Kurt and Rachel. They both hoped the photographer had gotten a picture of that.

"Before we let Kurt and Rachel cut the wedding cake, Quinn and I would like to make a toast. I—"

"Actually," said Finn, standing. "May I Mercedes?"

Mercedes looked at Quinn, who shrugged. They both sat back down.

Finn laughed and held his glass in his hand. "You know, back in the Lima Bean when Quinn called the New Directions meeting and all of us learned about Kurt and Rachel's relationship, I was a little bit shocked that it had happened. Probably like a lot of you were. Never in a million years would most of us have guessed that Hummelberry would become a thing."

Rachel laughed but covered her mouth quickly. "Sorry Finn."

"But," he continued. "It made sense the more we thought about it. These two became faster friends than anyone I've ever known, which is funny considering they would have killed each other for a solo in glee club in high school."

"Wouldn't even blink," said Kurt with a smirk. Rachel nodded.

"So yeah, when I suggested doing a wedding for them on the stage at the auditorium in McKinley, never would I have thought that it turned out something so... wonderful. It just shows the power of all of us working together. I hope we remember that we do work well together under pressure and that we never leave each other behind. And that we work better with Kurt and Rachel out of our hair."

"Hey!" protested both as the guests laughed, especially Will. Emma was covering her mouth to hide her giggles.

Finn grinned. "I also wanted to do something on the behalf of Burt and Mom and Leroy and Hiram Berry. They wanted to thank you Quinn for taking care of everything, which I can agree with. Your leadership saved us, because we would have never been able to pull this off without you taking lead. If I had tried to do this, it would have fallen apart. Shows how much I knew about weddings when I suggested this."

"That's no joke," said Puck from the next table. "You did put us through a lot of work. On our vacation time!"

"Sorry!" said Finn with a sigh.

"We forgive you Finn," smiled Tina. "You just helped put Kurt and Rachel into all our debts." She smirked at them and held up a glass.

"Anyway," said the Army man. He picked up a package and handed it to Quinn. "This is our thank you for helping all of us." The New Directions members cheered as Quinn blushed. Finn motioned for her to stand and speak.

"Thank you," she said with a laugh. "It was fun. I was right though. When Coach Sylvester called me when I got home for Christmas, I knew she was stirring up trouble. But it was a good sort of trouble. Because I got to spend time with the people who I always want to call a friend. Okay, enough about me. There's cake that needs to be cut." She nudged Rachel's shoulder as light applause came from the guests. Rachel handed Kurt back his jacket and she took him by the hand as the photographer set his camera on a tripod to get a shot. Kurt took the quick moment to look around the cake. On the side he couldn't see, the words "Our Fairy Tale" had been written. And sitting beside the cake was something that made him laugh and showed it to Rachel. On the table surrounded by flowers was a decorated pumpkin painted in white to look like a carriage. It was trimmed out in gold and silver with a white carriage base. One of his dad's employees was good with metal and probably helped them make it.

"No wonder Blaine smelled like pumpkin," mused Kurt as Rachel looked over it with a laugh.

"Quinn took this fairy tale theme seriously." She held up the cake knife and he saw it had a carriage on it too. Kurt chuckled.

"So Cinderella?"

Rachel put Kurt's hand over hers as she moved to cut the bottom layer of the cake.

"I was thinking more like Kurtrella since you have a larger shoe collection than mine."

Kurt snorted, trying to hold in a laugh as Rachel giggled and licked cake off her fingers. The black layers had been the Italian cream. She had moved to cut the white layer when Kurt beat her to it, sliding the knife easily into the soft fondant. The icing covered the both of their hands and Rachel slid a finger cross Kurt's and took a bite, closing her eyes.

"That is delicious," said Rachel with a whimper. She picked up the piece of chocolate cake and fed it to Kurt, making sure to smear the chocolate hazelnut icing across his lips.

"That has coffee in it," he said, melting at the taste before giving her an evil look for the icing on his cheeks. She laughed and grabbed the towel off the table and helped him clean off face. He smirked and picked up the Italian cream cake and Rachel squealed, holding up her hands to block him.

"Don't you even dare Kurt Hummel!."

"I now have a respect for all those cake smashing pictures you see online," he said with a smirk. He gave her a reprieve and pushed the cake to her lips, which she took a bite, nipping his finger in a tease.

"Oh you're just evil." He tweaked her nose as she laughed out loud.

They hadn't even noticed Brittany and Tina were standing over to the side with their camera phones filming them next to the videographer. The catering staff took over cutting the cake while Kurt wiped his hands on the towel. Rachel noticed Mercedes handing the mic Finn had taken back to Unique, who was going over to the stage.

"So while everyone is getting settled and having some of this delicious cake that Unique wants to get some action in on," said the black girl with a smile as she continued. "Kurt and Rachel, why don't you come on up here to the dance floor. Traditionally, the married couple has the first dance and tonight's yours honey. And here is an oldie to do things right."

_A Kiss to Build a Dream On_ by Louis Armstrong started to play, and Rachel started to laugh to herself. Kurt gave her a sideways look as she pulled on him. He took her hand in his and she danced towards the middle of the floor.

"Dad likes Louis Armstrong," she smiled. "I always told him I wanted to get married to that song."

"That's really sweet," he smiled as they continued, ever in perfect form. Rachel motioned to Tina and Mike and Santana and Brittany over Kurt's shoulder. Mercedes and Sam came over and joined them on the dance floor, as did Juliet and Quinn and Leroy and Hiram. Kurt looked around as they turned and saw that Artie, Blaine, Puck, Matt, Joe, and Finn had disappeared. He laughed when he saw Burt and Carole come join them, as did Will and Emma.

Quinn took Juliet's hand with a laugh on the dance floor. "I don't think I've danced with another girl since Brittany at prom in high school."

"We'll match Brittany and Santana I suppose," said Juliet with a smile.

"Don't say that, they'd like it too much," groaned Quinn. "Brittany keeps trying to tell me that girl kisses are amazing."

"Well," said Juliet. "Girls lips are softer than a boy's."

"What? Have you really?"

"It's called college Quinn. Everyone experiments these days."

Quinn's face grew warm. "I suppose so."

Juliet laughed. "You are adorable Quinn. You should try to be a little more free with yourself. Prim and proper suits you, but you might want to think about enjoying your youth while you have a chance."

Quinn wrinkled her nose. "Am I that transparent?"

The southern girl shook her head. "No, I think I just see you differently that perhaps everyone else does." The music changed and _Save the Last Dance for Me_ by Michael Bublé started to play. Juliet felt a tap on her shoulder and Leroy was standing there with a smile.

"Can I cut in on you ladies? I need to talk to Quinn a moment."

"Sure," said Juliet with a smile. Leroy took Quinn's hand with a chuckle.

"Sorry I'm not Brad Pitt," he said with small smirk.

Quinn laughed. "You're fine Mr. Berry. What did you need to talk to me about?"

Santana was dancing close to Brittany as their lower bodies rubbed. Brittany let out a soft moan that she muffled into Santana's shoulder.

"I never realized Latin dancing was so sexy," said Brittany. "They don't show this part on _Dancing with the Stars_."

"That's because they're not me," said Santana. Brittany dipped her down, which made the Latina laugh and hold tight to Brittany's waist while she righted herself.

"I can't wait to go home with you," said Brittany softly. They kissed gently as Santana rubbed Brittany's neck.

"It'll have to be quick if we're going to your parents house."

"I meant New York," said Brittany. "That's our home now. You're going to be a star there someday, you know."

"I am," said Santana. "I'll be the most awesome actor in Hollywood too."

Brittany smiled. "And I'll be your pretty wife."

"You'll always be my pretty wife," said Santana with a smile. "With or without Hollywood."

"We probably should go greet our guests," said Kurt to Rachel as they danced. She had laid her head on his shoulder.

"Our guests," teased Rachel. "Our wedding guests."

"Yeah, I know. Don't remind me. How ever did I get roped into marrying you Rachel?"

"It was a cold September morning when we applied for a license. Then we went and bought engagement and wedding rings from that amazing little second hand store you found. Which was nice that they could do re-sizing there on the spot."

"You can find anything in New York if you look carefully enough." Kurt felt a tap on his shoulder.

"May I cut in?" said Burt with a smile. "Thought I'd steal you for a moment Rachel before you get your Father/Daughter dance."

"Aww, I'd love to," said Rachel with a wide smile. "Sorry Kurt, I chose Burt."

Kurt chuckled and Burt took Rachel's arm. The countertenor wandered over to Quinn who was standing by the head table with a cup of coffee warming her heads.

"Don't judge me," she said. "I need a pick me up."

"I live off Starbucks Quinn. I have more Colombian coffee in my veins than Kim Kardashian has handbags."

Quinn smirked and finished her cup. "Not taking advantage of the open bar? You, Puck, and Santana are technically the only ones among us old enough to drink."

"I've had two glasses. One of champagne and white wine," said Kurt with a sigh. "I promised Juliet a Shirley Temple but I may have to make it a virgin. I think Finn is going to drive us home, but I don't want to chance it if I'm wrong and its still snowing."

They both watched as the music changed again and Hiram and Leroy both took their turns with Rachel. Kurt noticed the photographer was still taking photographs around the dance floor while his assistant was running a video camera. He hadn't even realized they were taking video too. He shook his head with a smile, amazed what they had managed to pull off.

"Finn's not much for drinking is he?"

"Maybe a beer or two," shrugged Kurt. "He does not understand the pleasure of mixed drinks. I'm particularly fond of rum and coke, but I try not to have it often, as doing so drains my wallet and my stomach of its contents."

"This is why I'll never drink enough for a hangover ever again," said Quinn with a shudder. "Alcohol awareness week was enough to turn me sober."

Kurt shuddered at the memory.

"Even if you were at Dalton it was a bad week for you too."

"For a different reason," said Kurt with a sigh. "Now when I look back on it, I feel like I need to apologize to Blaine."

"Do it, if it'll help clear your conscience," said Quinn. "Lord knows I've been doing a lot of that lately."

"... So that's why you became wedding planner."

"Somewhat," said Quinn. "That and I knew if we left it all to Finn, it was a disaster of mythic proportions, perhaps even bigger than the flood."

"Quinn Fabray," said Kurt with a slight smirk. "Did I just hear you—"

"Yes, yes you did," she said with a smile. "I've got to loosen up a little sometime."

He stood back and studied her a minute.

"Well, you need to come to New York more often. It'd work on you."

"We'll see," said Quinn. Kurt suddenly found Rachel wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning into his shoulder.

"I do however want to be there when Rachel is pregnant with your first child."

"And with that, the peace is broken," said Kurt with a sigh. "Come on Rachel, we need to go do that thing we said we needed to do."

"Peace? Pregnant? What?" she said confused, looking at Quinn. "What are you two talking about? And why am I pregnant? Kurt is there something you're not telling me?"

"Nothing!" said both Quinn and Kurt. They caught each other's eye with a smirk. Rachel and Kurt headed towards their wedding guests to greet them.

* * *

After another dance or three, Quinn saw the boys come back in, dusting off snow from their jackets. "So mission accomplished?" asked the blonde as she made her way to Blaine's side.

"More than accomplished," said Finn. "I just hope Burt doesn't kill me for decorating his truck."

"I'm sure he's expecting it," said Blaine. "Especially when Puck is involved."

"What? I have turned over a new leaf. I'm the one good guy now."

"Still a master prankster," said Artie, bumping his fist against Puck's own. "McKinley will never forget the name of Noah Puckerman."

"They can't. It's painted on the roof," smirked Puck.

"I don't even want to know how you made it up there," scoffed Quinn, rolling her eyes.

"Not to sound like a drag, but when is this lame-o party going to be over with?" asked Puck. "It's fun hanging out with you dweebs, but I do have to catch a flight to catch tomorrow."

Quinn looked at him strangely. "Puck, are you drunk?"

He shrugged. "Only a few beers." He frowned. "It sucks having to be an adult and taking care of yourself. Open bar and I can't even get wasted."

"Why not?" asked Quinn.

"There's stuff I've got to do tomorrow, plus Jake's flying home with me and Lauren," said Puck. "He's going to come help me with the pool business for a while."

"Okay, single ladies!" said Unique over everyone. "It's about time for our lovely bride to throw her bouquet. Won't somebody come catch it in my place?"

"I will honey!" said Sugar, bouncing. "Come on Rachel, we need some good looking men in our lives!"

Rachel laughed at Sugar and started walking back towards where her bouquet lay on the head table. The girls were gathering on the dance floor, and she noticed Quinn coming up to her side beside Kurt.

"Don't worry about messing them up, we had you an extra made to take back to New York with you."

"Aww, that's sweet," said Rachel. "Thank you Quinn." She whimpered. "But they're so pretty. Do I have to toss them? They'll get ruined."

Kurt was checking his nails, waiting for the throwing of the bouquet to see which one of his friends would catch it. He secretly hoped it would be Brittany, who was already jumping up and down and squealing. "Rachel, they have you an extra one to keep. I think you'll be okay honey if this one gets a little broken."

She whimpered again, holding her flowers close to her chest.

"Oh Rachel," said Kurt, standing and going over to her. He turned her around to where her back was to the group and took the flowers in his hands with her. "They'll be okay. Just raise your arms and throw..."

While he was just going to demonstrate, he really didn't expect Rachel to let go. The flowers flew out of her hands and past the group of girls and landed... in Puck's lap.

Kurt's eyes went wide and he immediately hid behind Rachel, who wrapped her arms around her husband when she heard the reactions from the crowd who were watching the proceedings. Puck stood up in horror, the bouquet in his hands. Most of the New Directions were trying not to laugh, but Santana was all out cackling at the imagery. The guests outside of their close knit circle of friends were also laughing at the image of Puck with flowers.

"What the hell Hummel?!"

"I didn't know she was going to let go!" laughed Kurt. Lauren had walked over to Kurt's side and kissed his cheek, holding the bouquet.

"Thanks sweetie. You just did me the biggest favor." She shook the bouquet at Puck, who put out an arm like he was going to rush at Kurt, who squealed and ducked.

"Noah," Rachel said finally after a moment. "I think the universe is trying to tell you something." She giggled, her eyes dancing.

Puck grumbled and Rachel hugged him. "Don't kill my husband please. I'd like to have something to take home."

"He's trying to kill me," he stomped and walked off.

"I so didn't expect you to let go," laughed Kurt as Rachel sat back down at the head table. Some of the guests were starting to leave, and Unique was giving instructions as to the weather or something, Kurt couldn't quite make it out over the noise. But it sounded like she was giving an official goodbye if they wanted to head out. Someone had placed plates of their wedding cake on the table for them, and they both shared a few bites, enjoying the richness.

"...And for those who want to stick around for a while, Kurt and Rachel and friends are having karaoke. Everyone is invited to stick around and hear a good song or two. Or sing! We love to hear other voices beside our own."

Shelby and her husband made their way to Rachel and Kurt. Beth was practically asleep in her arms, looking like a blonde angel.

"Congratulations sweetie," she said with a smile. "You were beautiful Rachel. And congratulations Kurt. I haven't gotten to see you yet with everything going on. You two were beautiful together."

"Thank you for coming," said Kurt. "I know it means a lot to Rachel."

"I wouldn't have missed it for the world," said Shelby. She gave Rachel a sideways hug as her husband chuckled. "Oh, honey I haven't forgotten about you. Rachel, this is Jason, my husband."

"Oh!" said Rachel, standing up and extending her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"It's great to finally get to see you," said Jason. "She's told me a lot about you Rachel. Maybe someday soon we can all have lunch together in New York."

"We'd like that," said Rachel.

"If we can get everyone's schedules together," said Shelby as she shifted Beth a little. "Rachel's in NYADA and working, and Kurt's at NYU's Tisch and working for _Vogue_. Both of them are trying to get on Broadway."

"Wow," said Jason. "Maybe we can come see you onstage."

"Someday soon," said Rachel. "Both of us have our fingers crossed. And for our friend Santana. She's trying to be an actor. We're hoping all three of us can make it onstage."

"Though not all in the same show at the same time," said Kurt. "I think the theatre might explode from Rachel and Santana's egos."

"Hey!" said Rachel, exasperated. Shelby laughed in amusement and Kurt smirked.

"We need to get back to the hotel," said Shelby with a soft smile. "Take care you two. Maybe we'll see you soon."

"Take care of her," said Rachel. She smoothed Beth's hair.

"We will," said Shelby. "Bye Rachel, Kurt."

Rachel sat back down and starting rubbing her heel with a sigh. "As much as I love any opportunity to sing with my peers, I really would just like to change and lie down."

"It would be nice just to go home and relax," said Kurt. "Think anyone would notice if we snuck out?"

"Yes we would," said Quinn. "Everyone would be wondering why Rachel wasn't singing our ears off."

"I do love to sing," smiled the brunette. "I think I'm just emotionally exhausted."

"It is a bit hard to come out from under very large, very hidden secrets," said Quinn. "Usually yours are quite public."

"Ain't that the truth," mumbled Kurt in agreement. Rachel swatted his shoulder.

"Watch the velvet!"

Rachel rolled her eyes. "I admit I do have the habit of being quite open with myself and my relationships. This one was a little bit different I suppose. There was a lot going on than just me."

"Yeah, your therapist," sighed Kurt.

Quinn raised an eyebrow.

"Don't ask," said Kurt. "Let's just say that her therapist and I did not get along."

"They had differing opinions on when our friendship/relationship had reached a point of no return," said Rachel. "She seemed to think it was when we no longer would sleep in separate beds, even though that was pretty early on. We were still in denial that anything was happening between us."

"How—how did you know?" said Tina. Rachel realized that more of their friends had gathered around the table with them. The caterers were picking up the empty plates and glasses and cleaning off the tables. "I mean, you told us how you both realized you cared for one another, but when did you know it was really happening?"

Rachel looked at Kurt, who wasn't saying anything. They both knew which night it would be.

"It was a rough night," said Rachel finally. "It's probably best to leave it that."

"But now it's all better right?" asked Mercedes. "You're married now."

"Yes," said Rachel with a smile.

"She's lucky she's cute and has the ability to talk even Bugs Bunny out of his carrot."

Rachel gasped. "Kurt Hummel! Are you trying to say I manipulated you into this?" She whimpered and gave her poutiest face.

"You know I'm not answering you when you make that face."

"You wound me," she sniffed.

"And you're such a wanton for attention and affection." He pulled her closer and kissed her softly, holding her chin in his hands.

"That I will thoroughly admit to," grinned Rachel.

"Now you see what I've been putting up with for several months," drawled out Santana as she and Brittany approached.

"I'm surprised you didn't die from cuteness overload," muttered Tina.

"Small doses," said Santana, using her thumb and forefinger to demonstrate. "Very small doses. But Brittany over here loves her Kurtsie. He helps her with paper writing."

"Adjectives are hard," frowned Brittany.

"Oh Brittany," said Tina suddenly. "Our book!"

Brittany's eyes widened as she scurried off to the other side of the tea house.

"Your book?" questioned Rachel.

Tina laughed. "You'll see."

"Oh, and before I forget," said Quinn, pulling out a small box. "Here are a couple of your wedding favors. I thought you might like them." She handed them both a key chain of a carriage with large wheels. It was made of metal and crystal, and slightly heavy.

"Turn them over," said Quinn with a smile. Kurt laughed he saw both of their names and the wedding date.

"Oh that's adorable," said Rachel. "Now I'll never be able to forget my keys. This thing is heavy."

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "And I'm assuming I know where you got this."

Quinn laughed. "Yes, this is what Blaine was picking up at the mall the day you saw him."

"Sneaky," said Rachel with a small smile. "And I almost had that bag too."

"Your wedding set came from there as well."

"Wedding set?"

"Didn't you see the cake server and knife?"

"Oh yes," said Rachel. "Kurtrella."

Kurt tried to cover up his snort with a cough.

"The glasses too."

"Huh," said Rachel, picking up one of her and Kurt's wine glasses. A metallic carriage was racing away down the stem from a large etched into the glass castle.

"And here's the book," said Brittany with a big antique book in her hands. On the cover was written "Our Fairy Tale" and a calligraphy KRH. She laid it down on the table and Rachel moved to open the cover. She laughed when the first page was rainbows with clouds and gold stars. A unicorn graced the lower half of the page.

"I decorated!" said Brittany. "I hope you like it."

"It's very cute," laughed Rachel. Tina and Brittany had both signed the first page. She flipped to the second. Kurt started looking over her shoulder at the text. Rachel began to read out loud.

_"Once upon a time there lived a boy and a girl who ruled their high school glee club. Well, the girl ruled the high school glee club, the boy was content to find those who understood him."_

Rachel moved to wrap her arm around Kurt and continued to read.

_"But one day, an evil villain in the kingdom of McKinley scared the boy so much that he went and hid in the neighboring kingdom of Dalton. He felt safe there, but the girl realized how lonely she was without her best frenemy. With a little help from a good Latina witch who confused the evil villain and brought the boy back to the kingdom successfully. There was much rejoicing from the glee club, and all was back to normal. The boy and girl became the best of friends, no longer content to be rivals. They became so close that they began to dream about running away from the kingdom together to a far far away land known as heaven."_

Kurt laughed as Brittany's drawing of him and Rachel floating in clouds over what he could only assume was New York. He wondered how much paint (and crayon) was used on this and why Brittany and Tina was not still covered from head to toe in it.

_"When the boy and girl both realized that their new lives in heaven were so much different than the lives they knew back in the kingdom of McKinley, they had to learn to adapt to change and were very lonely. But then friends from home moved into the city, and helped ease the harshness of the new land."_

Rachel smiled at the picture of Brittany and Santana in their Cheerios uniforms with suitcases. It was priceless. Even though they were never the best of friends, it had been a great day when Brittany and Santana had moved to New York. Brittany and Tina must have had a lot of fun with this, she mused as she turned the page.

_"It wasn't long after this that the boy and girl began to realize they had feelings for each other that were not there before. While both had their share of fairy tale princes, this would be a romance that would sweep them both off their feet."_

Rachel laughed and Kurt was amused by the full paged drawing of the New Directions with brooms. The stick figure versions of her and Kurt were jumping over the brooms like they were running."Swept off our feet huh?" Rachel teased to Tina.

"It was Brittany's suggestion," said the Asian girl with a smile to Brittany.

"Kurt likes to clean," shrugged Brittany. "I swear he's always cleaning something when I come to visit."

"I like to be neat," said Kurt. "You don't know how hard it is with Rachel around."

"I am neat and organized," huffed the girl. "Just... not when I'm not auditioning. I get nervous and I don't think."

"Which is every week," muttered Kurt.

Rachel sighed. "I'd so tell you that you're sleeping on the couch, but then I'd miss my pillow."

"And I'd miss my heat source. Seriously, Rachel puts out more body heat than an electric blanket."

"That's not the only thing she's putting out," smirked Santana.

The groan this time came not from Kurt or Rachel, but from the other New Directions sitting at the table. It was apparent that they had enough of Santana's jokes to last them till their next gathering. The brunette diva gave Santana a wink and continued reading.

_"So thus begins their fairy tale in the big city, chasing after their dreams of fame and fortune with each other by their side every step of the way. And they shall live happily ever after, or at least till they come up for the same role on Broadway."_

"Aww, this is so adorable," said Rachel after finishing the tale. "I've never had my own storybook before."

"Definitely high on the sweet factor," added Kurt.

"And there's more blank pages," said Tina. "We can add more to your fairy tale later if you'd like."

"I definitely think this is much better than my memoirs," said Rachel, standing up and giving Tina a hug, then Brittany.

Kurt turned the next page, and saw that there was a large picture that had been attached to it. It was a photo of their friends, covered in paint and glitter and sawdust, and everything in between. Beneath it, Brittany had made a stick figure version of it, and they had all signed above their drawn selves.

"That is so... wow," said Kurt, almost speechless. "How did you come up with this in this short amount of time?"

Tina and Brittany pointed at Quinn, who waved them off.

"It was a joint effort really," said the blonde Yale student. "I thought doing a personalized guest book would be cute, with Brittany doing all the drawing. And it sort of grew into this fairy tale thing that it is now. The next couple of pages is where everyone signed tonight."

"Do you really like it?" said Brittany, hopeful.

"Oh honey, it's precious," gushed Kurt. "You all outdid yourselves, really. I don't know how you expect me to beat this."

"You'll just have to work hard," said Mercedes. "Because we're expecting greatness."

"That reminds me," said Quinn. "We're all meeting at 8 sharp at the Lima Bean in the morning."

"Why?" said Rachel.

"Clean up," said Quinn. "The Botanical Gardens is letting us leave everything except food here overnight. But we have to get everything down and out before noon tomorrow. And yes, that does include you two. We may have kicked you out of the decision making, but clean up is a definite Kurt and Rachel activity."

"We'll be there," promised Kurt.

"I still can't believe we all came home for Christmas," said Tina. "I mean, what the odds of that happening?"

"I think it was because we all unconsciously knew something was going down," said Mercedes. "Like a homing signal we all came back home."

"So Hummel's panic and guilt was big enough that it sent out the New Directions bat signal," said Santana, considering. "I can see that. I knew I wasn't about to miss this fallout. I figured me and Brittany would be pulling Rachel off Finn at Breadstix or something."

Rachel looked over and considered Finn a moment. He was talking to the other boys at another table, using his hands to describe something. It warmed her heart to see him happy. His displeasure might have been a concern at one time, but now he was filled with contentment in his life. And that made her more happy than anything.

"Well, it's nice to know my harried emotional state had enough sense to send out the distress call," said Kurt, dripping in sarcasm. "Although some of us did also come in because Mr. Schue wanted our help."

"I wish I had known about the distress call," said Brittany in a pout. "I still have my superhero costume. I can't wear it around New York though. The other superheroes think I'm moving in on their territory. I got in a fight with Spiderman. He yelled at me. He's not a nice man."

"That was Halloween sweetie," said Santana. "It probably really wasn't Spiderman."

"Hey Hummel!" yelled Puck. "Oh wait, there's two of you now. So when are you going to quit holding court?"

Rachel laughed and looked at Kurt, who was shaking his head.

"You up for some singing?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"We wouldn't be the New Directions if there wasn't any singing."

"And dancing," said Mike as he came up and tugged on Tina. She hopped to her feet with a smile.

"I do request one dance," said Kurt to Mercedes.

"And I request a song," said the black girl. "We haven't sung together in forever because someone's been in New York for too long."

"I had good reason," he pouted.

"You'd better beat Rachel on stage."

"Trying," said Kurt with a smirk. And they left it at that and went and joined the others around the dance floor and karaoke.


	16. Chapter 16

AN: Final chapter for this story! Thank you to everyone's read this. I've enjoyed writing it. :) I most definitely plan to write more in this world. I've built in some scenes I really want to see played out before and after the wedding.

* * *

"My Dad is going to kill Finn when he sees the truck," muttered Kurt as Rachel sat down on his bed at the Hummel home. "Water balloons hanging from the roof of the cab, really?"

"I had never been more afraid of getting into a vehicle in my life," laughed Rachel as she sat down on the edge of the bed to watch Kurt undress. "I'm just glad that I had changed out of my wedding dress and heels. The shaving cream on everything, geez."

"I'm surprised they actually did anything at all," commented Kurt as he hung up the jacket. "It's not like we were going anywhere. And thank god I had my tan coat and gloves or I would have made Finn drive us home. Tomorrow morning I'm going to lob every one of those water balloons at Puck, Sam, Finn, Mike... I'll make an exception for Joe, because I don't want karma to come back and bite me."

"What about Blaine?" teased Rachel.

"He gets the first one," said Kurt as he knelt by his suitcase. "Actually, I think Santana gets the first one for that _song_."

Rachel laughed. "Doing her own spin for you on _I Kissed a Girl_ was pretty priceless. I do hope that was captured on video."

"I hope it goes down in flames," muttered Kurt.

"She was just having fun," said Rachel with a soft smile. "She did keep our secrets."

"True," admitted Kurt. He sat down beside Rachel. She ran his fingers through his hair as he hummed a random tune while checking his phone messages. They were finally in the one place they really wanted to be: alone in each other's company. It was warm and inviting in Kurt's room, and Rachel was just happy that the day was over with. She loved her friends and what they had done, but this was her vacation and wedding night. She really wanted to spend some alone time with Kurt. He put away his phone on the side table.

"While I love Brittany and Tina, how are we getting to take that big book downstairs on the plane?"

"Your luggage could hold it."

"Why does everyone make fun of my luggage? It's not like I packed five suitcases."

Rachel smiled. "We have gathered a few items so far this trip. My flowers will definitely be an interesting thing to try and check."

A loud thump, followed by a cheer could be heard from downstairs. Kurt sighed.

"We really should have went to your house. I can't believe the boys are actually downstairs watching the second Avengers movie. Do they not realize they have to be up at the latest by 7:30?"

"Yes, we could have. But I want to hear my father in law when he sees the condition Finn let his truck get into."

Kurt laughed at the thought. Rachel kissed his lips softly before he smiled at their hands. "I am glad we can wear our rings again."

"It did feel rather weird without them," admitted Rachel, admiring her hand. Kurt kissed her back and Rachel wanted more. They exchanged kisses for a few minutes, basking in the few moments of quiet.

"We should probably get some sleep after our moisturizing routines."

"Mercedes and Sam were cute singing _Accidentally in Love_, don't you think?"

"Kurt, you are not going to pressure Sam into proposing. Lauren already have Puck on the proverbial ropes. Be glad he didn't kill you."

"You were a part of that too."

"He won't kill his Jewish American Princess, however."

A smile was on the corner of Kurt's lips as he sat back on the bed. "Maybe Quinn and I should go into the wedding planner business together and start Lauren on a discount prepackaged deal."

"Well, at least we could get her to move to New York," smiled Rachel. "Although the part of me still locked in the innocent high school girl mentality wonders why, but I do miss her a bit. She doesn't come to visit often enough."

"You were never innocent in high school Rachel."

"Haha. And why did you want to kick Blaine during the handfasting ceremony?"

"Oh. That. Um," he sighed as he shifted on the bed. "There's an old Asian belief that two destined lovers are tied together by one red string. The Red String of Fate. I had the idea that we could do that for our own... wedding."

"Kurt honey, you were helping plan mine and Finn's," said Rachel sympathetically. "You don't have to be embarrassed about anything you and Blaine talked about."

"I know," he looked down. "It still feels wrong somehow."

"It always will," said Rachel. "When you're devoted for a long time to someone. What would you do if something were to happen to me and you moved on to someone else?"

Kurt sat still for a long time. "I don't want to think about it," he said softly. "I just got to keep you in front of our family and friends. I want to grow old with you Rachel." He sighed. "We've taken a lot of big steps these last couple of days. I think it's wearing on me more than I thought it would. I mean, I'm relieved, but—"

"It was more than we had planned," agreed the brunette. She took Kurt's hand and rubbed it. "And you handled it beautifully."

"I'm really starting to wonder if maybe it was a good thing that we didn't have to plan the wedding," he said with a small touch of humor. "I think I was still in shock from having to admit everything to a mob in the auditorium."

Rachel laughed. "Supposed mob. I think our friends were more dying of curiosity than going to lynch us. We haven't exactly been honest with them, not to mention probably about 80% of them expected you to get back together with Blaine and me with Finn."

"We're lucky they still love us," said Kurt. "I guess Facebook and Skype isn't enough."

Rachel laid her head on Kurt's chest. "We'll have to make a trip to L.A. soon." Kurt rubbed Rachel's back. "I know you do miss your other best friend. Don't think I didn't notice you wiping your eyes when she was talking about recording her single."

"I do miss her," said Kurt. "But she's happy. I couldn't ask for more."

Rachel laughed. "Are we going to become the couple that tries to get all their friends married off? Because that's going to become annoying really fast to everyone else."

"Oh, I don't know," said Kurt. "Tina and Mike are already there practically. Sam probably just needs a little nudging, and no Rachel, I won't do it. And Puck, well... he's Puck. You can never really guess what he wants to do. Finn's engaged. Quinn... I don't know."

Rachel frowned. "I keep noticing that she keeps looking at Finn and Juliet. You don't think she's thinking about Finn... do you?"

Kurt shook his head. "I noticed that too, but you know Quinn. Controlled and calm as the sea on the surface."

Rachel bit her lip and frowned.

"Well, at least Brittany and Santana are cute and adorable."

"Yes, they are," laughed Rachel as she scooted herself onto Kurt's lap. She kissed his neck before snuggling into it.

"As much as I love Artie, he definitely needs someone smarter than all of us."

"Yeah, like a Nobel Peace Prize winner," commented Kurt. "I always did feel sympathy for him. I mean, I found Blaine and had someone who understood, but he never really got that chance. Even Brittany had forgotten she had dated him."

Rachel winced. "That... must have hurt."

"I couldn't even imagine."

"We are lucky," said Rachel. "When I was younger, my Dads would always say that I would find friends once I got into college or the real world... I believed that for the longest because I thought when I moved to New York I would find kindred spirits. While I think that we have made some good friends in New York, I don't feel the same connection to them as I do to all of us. Even with all the backstabbing and lies that we once had... we really are a family." She paused and looked at Kurt carefully. "Maybe you mentally did send up a bat signal."

"Funny. Or it could be that we all still have family or obligations here in Lima."

Rachel chuckled and straightened Kurt's pajama top. "I prefer the bat signal."

Kurt smirked and ran his fingers through Rachel's hair. A thud came from downstairs, followed by Mike's coarse laughter.

"You want to do something to drown them out? I think I can provide a _great_ distraction."

"Please," muttered Kurt as Rachel chuckled and kissed him again.

* * *

The next morning, Kurt awoke to find his wife already dressed and brushing out her hair.

"Morning," said Rachel, slightly muffled. She had stuck the end of her hairbrush in her mouth as she put her hair up in a ponytail. She had on a pair of well-fitting dark denim jeans tucked into a pair of low black suede boots with a black tank top and red sweater.

"I didn't even know you owned a pair of dark denim jeans," said Kurt as he held one eye blearily open. Rachel smirked.

"You don't buy all my clothes you know." Kurt rolled his eyes.

"It's not that. Honestly, it's just that you and pants aren't constant companions," quipped back Kurt.

"I am aware of that," said Rachel. "But these are comfortable, and better for working than a skirt. Speaking of which, you need to get up and get dressed."

Kurt whimpered and pulled the covers over his head.

"I'm not here."

"If you're not here Mr. Ghost, then why can I still see your lump in the bed?" She smacked his ass for good measure. Rachel heard a yelp and a hand shot out from under the covers and pulled her onto the bed. She laughed and tried to pin down the lump underneath her, but Kurt kept squirming. Rachel finally pulled down the top of the comforter and kissed his cheek.

"Come on Sleeping Beauty. Up."

"Beauty, really? You could at least call me handsome."

"It just doesn't have the same ring to it," said Rachel as she got up off the bed.

"Elegant?"

"_Kurt_."

"Classy?"

"No."

"Graceful?"

"You are that, but no."

"Refined?"

"Sleeping refined, Kurt?"

"Tasteful?"

"In the illustrious words of Santana the Latina Wonder, _wan-ky_."

"I can't believe you just said that."

"I can't believe you of all people are still in bed. You're the early riser."

"Stately? Dapper?"

"Kurt seriously," laughed Rachel. "Come on, we've got to get to the Lima Bean. You're in a mood today, aren't you?"

"I have sharpened my wits and am ready for battle," he said with a smirk. There was a knock on the door and as Rachel turned to open it, she heard a small squeak and the bathroom door slam. Finn looked less than amused as he poked his head in, his eyes shut.

"Breakfast is ready, if you guys are up."

"Finn, you can open your eyes," said Rachel, rolling her own. "I'm dressed and Kurt's in the bathroom."

"Oh," said the tall boy, opening them carefully.

"How was the movie?" asked Rachel as she took her phone and put it in her pocket.

"Oh, it was good," said Finn. "Better the second or third time around with our sound effects and Sam's bad voice overs."

"I'm glad it was fun," yawned Rachel as she sat down on the bed. "When do you have to go back Fort Benning?"

"Not till after New Years," said Finn. "And Mom's going to come down next month to go with me to meet Juliet's parents in Alabama."

"Wow," said Rachel. "Meeting the parents for the first time?"

"I've met her mom," said Finn. "Not her dad yet."

"You nervous?" asked Rachel as she crossed her legs.

"A little," he admitted. "I like her Mom though. She's sweet and she makes the best fried pickles."

"Good," said Rachel. "I'm glad you're doing well Finn."

"You too," said Finn. "Well, I'm going to go eat. Juliet and I are going on to the coffee shop after that."

Rachel nodded and Finn left. She sighed and picked at her boots. After a few minutes, Kurt stuck his wet head out of the bathroom door.

"Finn gone?"

"He's hiding under the bed," smirked Rachel.

He came out in his bathrobe with a sigh. "Like Finn could fit under the bed Rachel." Kurt reached into his closet and began pulling out his clothes. Rachel kissed his cheek, rubbing his wet hair.

"I'm going to go downstairs," said Rachel. "See if the boys spent the night and are actually awake."

Kurt nodded and Rachel walked out the door and headed down the stairs.

"Mornin' Rachel," said Sam as she reached the bottom. "Sleep well?"

"Well enough," she said as she poured herself a glass of orange juice. "I didn't know you were staying here Sam."

"Just a couple of nights," said the blonde boy. "Mercedes' parents don't mind for me to stay there on the couch. But they weren't going to be home last night."

"Ah," said Rachel. "I think it's sweet that you two are being respectful and waiting for your wedding night."

Sam flushed red and choked on his bacon.

"Never mind then," laughed Rachel.

"Don't tell anyone," said Sam in a whisper.

"Not a peep," said Rachel with a smile. She took a sip of the orange juice. "I'm glad you're happy. You two are great together."

"I think so," smiled Sam. "I can't wait for her single to come out. I'll be the boyfriend to a famous star."

"You're more than that," said Rachel. "You're Sam Evans, savior of glee clubs and stripper extraordinaire."

"I think my stripper days are over," said Sam, nibbling on the rest of his bacon. "But my impersonations are still awesome."

Kurt came down the stairs with a slight clunk. He was wearing a pair of stylish knee high brown leather boots with decorative silver buttons down the sides over white fitted jeans. His long subtle two tone maroon sweater hung open over a grey _Vogue_ t-shirt with black lettering and pushed up to his elbows. A brooch shaped like a ladybug made of bronze and silver gears shone quietly on his sweater lapel. Black suspenders hung low around his hips. He sat down at the bar with Sam and Rachel and helped himself to the eggs and toast. Rachel poured him a glass of orange juice and he nodded his thanks. Sam snorted.

"What?" Kurt said.

"Your Dad is outside with Finn," said Sam with a smirk. "He just saw the truck."

"Think you guys did a good enough job?" said Rachel. "Between the sign on the side, the shaving cream on the outside and inside, the cans tied to the back, the cab full of water balloons... even the wedding bells on the antenna?"

"I thought the extra flower petals in the seat was a nice touch," said Sam, biting off a piece of toast.

"Except for the glitter," muttered Kurt.

"Oh, I don't know. I thought the little plush dolls of me and Kurt tied together on the hood were pretty cute," said Rachel. "I'm assuming Santana gave up her voodoo dolls."

"Santana had voodoo dolls?" said Sam, looking confused. "I wondered where Puck got those from."

Juliet came in giggling, and gave Sam a thumbs up.

"You might want to get out there," said Juliet. "Finn may need some help cleaning the interior." Sam hopped up from the bar, wiping his mouth and grabbing his jacket. Juliet slid into a seat at the breakfast bar and picked up some grapes from the laid out morning meal. Kurt looked at her, a questioning eyebrow.

"Oh yeah."

"I knew he would be," laughed Rachel. "It might have been a little too much to decorate the interior with the shaving cream. Who did that?"

"No one's saying," said Juliet. "They've closed up rank."

"Of course," said Kurt. "Solidarity among brethren."

"Puck however should be glad he didn't spend the night and couldn't be reached by phone," chuckled Juliet. "Mike took his sister and brother in law to the airport very early this morning. Blaine's going shopping, Matt took his mom to go see family, Joe's watching his younger sisters, and Artie's doing something with his Dad before he comes to the coffee shop."

"It wasn't that much shaving cream on the inside," said Kurt. "Just on the steering wheel and the words on the windows. Well, and the dash... but none on the leather seats thankfully."

"Though glitter."

Kurt nodded through the orange juice glass he was taking a drink out of. "I suppose I should go out there and see if they could use any help."

"No, you sit," said Carole, coming into the room from upstairs. She hugged Rachel's shoulders. "Eat. You too Juliet." They heard the front door open and close and Sam walking in with Mercedes, who was giggling as Sam was trying to lay kisses on her neck and she wasn't having it.

"Sam, stop. You just saw me like nine hours ago. Go help Finn," she swatted at him. Carole looked amused as Sam went back out the door. "Come join us for breakfast Mercedes."

"Thanks, but I just fixed breakfast for my mom and brother," said the black girl. "I came to pick up Sam, but I hear we may be a few minutes." She paused. "Was it that bad?"

"Not too bad," said Juliet. "It wasn't like the cab was covered in shaving cream."

Rachel stole a piece of Kurt's toast. He took a plate and filled it with food and handed it back to her. She pouted. He glared at her, which made her sit down beside him. Kurt looked up and saw the other three females in the room watching their silent conversation with questioning looks.

"What? I have to make her eat breakfast these days. She won't eat otherwise, then she'll get really hungry later. I've caught her staring at the massive deli sandwiches when we go grab something to eat."

"I don't eat meat, but they look _so_ good. Maybe one of these days I will actually break down and try corned beef and pastrami... when I'm 80."

"Case in point," said Kurt, leaning his head to the side with a sigh.

"That reminds me," said Mercedes. "Between me and Quinn and your Dads, we collected lots of wedding presents. Burt said to hang on to them and give them to you after the wedding." She opened her bag and handed Kurt a stack of envelopes.

"Wedding presents?" said Rachel, confused.

"I think she means money and gift cards," laughed Juliet.

"Ooh, I didn't even think about gifts. It was the last thing on my mind what with the rush," said the brunette. She stuck her face over Kurt's sweater as he flipped through the envelopes. He picked up a slightly thick one.

"Oh that one is Mr. and Mrs. Schue's," said Mercedes. "It's thickness got me curious too when he handed it to me."

"We'll have to look at them later," said Kurt, looking at the time on the microwave. "It's almost 8."

"And we're done," said Sam, coming into the bar and collapsing in a chair. They hadn't even heard the front door open as Finn sat down and practically inhaled a plate of eggs and bacon. Burt came in behind him, shaking his head before he kissed Carole on the cheek.

"All clean." He handed the tied up dolls to Rachel who giggled at the little dolls. "Thought you might like these as a memento."

"Just don't give them back to Santana," said Kurt over his orange juice.

"Good boys," said Carole, rubbing Finn and Sam's shoulders. "Sorry that you got roped into cleaning, Sam."

Sam shrugged. "It's cool. At least the sign and the bells are still attached. And the cans are now attached to the truck gate instead of the bumper." Finn smirked and tossed the keys to Kurt, who groaned.

"Now you can drive around all day with them."

"Thanks Finn. I'll remember that for _future_ reference," said Kurt with heavy sarcasm.

Juliet whimpered. "Please don't do anything to my car."

Kurt and Sam shared a contemplative look. "We'll just have to see."

"Oh lord, Sam and Kurt as co-partners in crime. That can't be good," said Mercedes.

Rachel came back down the stairs, putting her phone back in her pocket. "My Dads called and have invited everyone for dinner. Apparently there were enough leftovers from the catering to feed at least 15, so that's about perfect. So there will be singing and lot of cake. And a few bottles of wine and champagne."

"Sounds about like a Berry party," said Mercedes with a laugh. Kurt put a hand over Rachel's mouth to keep her from saying anything. He shook his head no to keep her from coming up with a retort.

"Alright, let's go," said Finn. Everyone started standing up and shrugging on jackets to leave with a thanks to Carole for breakfast.

* * *

After a few minutes of driving, they all pulled up to the Lima Bean. They made their way through the parking lot and found Quinn, Tina, Mike, Artie, Brittany, and Santana waiting outside with their coffee or hot tea talking. Mercedes, Sam, and Kurt went on inside to place their orders, but Rachel saw something out of the corner of her eye and she flinched.

Sebastian.

And he was headed right for Kurt.

"_Finn_. Mike."

"We see him."

"I'm going in," said Rachel firmly.

They both nodded. Rachel opened the door and went in. Sebastian was already to Kurt, who was looking extremely irritated. Mercedes was shooting daggers at Sebastian while Sam was holding onto her shoulders, looking rather annoyed himself.

"So Mr. Fakey McGayPants, I come home from studying abroad for a couple of years and I was talking to Jeff on the phone and he was telling me interesting things about your wedding here in Ohio. I wondered how that could be possible considering gay and lesbian couples _still_ can't get married legally in this state. But then he told me you were marrying a girl. A _girl_ Kurt. Last time I checked, Blaine was still very much of the male variety."

Rachel had to give Kurt credit, because his voice was clear and calm, though she didn't know how. It was Sebastian, after all.

"For your information Sebastian, since you have been abroad I'll give you a _small_ reprieve. Blaine and I broke up. Yes, as I'm quite sure you find that shocking and hard to believe, it did happen. We're still best friends, but it wasn't meant to be between us. And if you do decide to pursue him and leave his heart broken in the dust, not only will you finally have me to deal with, but you'll have my lovely wife, who's standing behind you looking none too happy."

Sebastian turned around and met the glowering face of Rachel, who was standing side to side with Santana. Rachel reached up and grabbed him by the ear.

"Since there are no glee clubs and championships on the line, and we're all adults, I've so wanted to do this." She pulled hard, and Sebastian groaned out loud.

"Ow!"

"And I this," said Santana. She pulled hard on the other one, which made Sebastian whimper and fall practically on his knees. "Not only will you have them, but you'll have the rest of the former New Directions too. Blaine's our boy. And he will always be. Hurt him and I will go all Lima Heights on your sorry ass."

Together they walked calmly to the door of the Lima Bean and threw Sebastian out of the facilities. He looked on in confusion as Rachel and Santana waved bye-bye and slammed the door. They turned around to much applause from their friends and half of the Lima Bean patrons.

"Thank you. Thank you," said Rachel with a bow. She and Santana gave each other a hip bump with a giggle.

"Did you... really mean that?" said a voice from behind them. Blaine Anderson was standing behind them, looking stunned. Neither Kurt nor Rachel had realized Blaine was inside, but the others had.

"Yes," said Kurt, calmly. "He's a smarmy ass, Blaine."

"Even the donkeys don't like him," said Brittany over her frozen hot chocolate.

"And you deserve much better than that," frowned Rachel. "Think about what all he tried to do to all of us. He may have tried to turn over a new leaf, but it certainly didn't stick."

"Yeah," said Artie. "We do try to protect our own, you know."

"Even if we have to go about it in weird ways," said Mike. "A sing-off really Kurt?"

"I honestly didn't want any of us to land in juvie because of Sebastian back then," shrugged the countertenor. "He's not worth it. And yes, even you Santana."

"It's nice to know you thought of me behind bars," smirked the Latina. "Wanky."

Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Well, it's nice to know everyone cares about my love life," said Blaine, shaking his head at the insanity. "Makes a birthday boy feel special."

"Speaking of which," said Tina as she came back inside the Lima Bean and towards the group. "Happy Birthday Blaine!" She sat down a large round cake done in green and white. On top was green suspenders and a bow tie drawn in icing. Blaine laughed when he saw a little Nightbird symbol drawn next to the bow tie.

"Aw Tina," he began. "That's adorable."

"It's the least Asian Persuasion could do."

"Should we sing?" questioned Mike.

"Nah," said Brittany. "The Human Brain needs cake."

"Can't argue with that," said Mercedes. "Now come on Blaine and cut that cake."

Blaine grinned and took the knife Tina was handing him.

* * *

After getting full of cake and coffee, everyone assembled out into the parking lot to divide up transportation. But everyone was spending more time talking than they were leaving.

"Can we go now?" said Santana, looking at the time on her phone.

"That sounds like a great idea," said Quinn. "We have till noon." She pointed towards Tina and Rachel."March my minions."

"We are not your minions," said Tina, turning around and shaking a finger at Quinn.

"No, not all of you," said Quinn. She put her hands on Kurt and Rachel's shoulders and pushed them forward with a grin. "Just these two."

"Yes Master," said Rachel automatically, taking her role as serious as possible with a smirk at Quinn. The group cracked up, except for Finn and Juliet who had lingered inside. It was a clear day with a soft wind. Rachel's hair blew around her as she followed a certain dark haired former Warbler to his car.

"Blaine," she said as she got close. She threw her arms around his shoulders.

"Happy Birthday."

"Thanks," he said with a smile. "You know, 19's a big birthday. You should know."

"Pretty soon you won't be a teenager anymore," said Rachel. "You'll be old, like all of us."

"Nah," said Blaine. "I'll never grow old, like Peter Pan or Dick Clark."

"You'd be perfect in the role of Peter," gasped Rachel. "Come to New York Blaine, you'd be wonderful onstage."

Blaine smiled sadly. "Not all of us are meant to shine onstage. Though maybe someday I can compose the music you'll sing."

Rachel looked at him in surprise. "You want to do musical scoring? Blaine! That's amazing."

"I think that's my life's dream," he agreed. "It's not an easy task."

Rachel bobbed her head up and down. "I can attest to that."

Blaine unrolled his thick white scarf and placed it in the passenger seat as he sat down in his car. "Well, maybe someday I can compose the songs you will sing on Broadway. But I still have a good bit of schooling to finish first."

"Would you come to dinner tonight?" asked Rachel. "At my place. My Dads are going to do a couple of things. It's just going to be us former and current Berrys and the Hummel-Hudsons. And Juliet. I invited Mercedes and Sam and was going to invite Quinn, Brittany, and Santana."

Blaine shook his head. "I've still got a project I need to finish for the Men's Glee Club at college before I head back to Michigan. And I'm taking Puck shopping today for his work."

"… You're taking Puck shopping? Why?"

Blaine shrugged. "He asked. His manager is getting on to him for not having 'good enough' clothes to wear for stuff. He didn't want Kurt to overload him, so he went from one gay to another."

"Good for him, I suppose," Rachel frowned. "Bad way to spend your birthday."

"Could be worse," shrugged Blaine as he put on his seat belt. "At least Puck and I could discuss sports and music. I'm not sure what Kurt and Puck would have talked about."

"That," said Rachel, sticking her hands in her coat pockets. "is an excellent point. I had better go." She waved goodbye to Blaine. "Have a good shopping trip." He nodded and started his car. Rachel walked back over to the others. Kurt handed her back her coffee cup.

"Where did you get off to?" he asked.

"I was talking to Blaine," said Rachel. She took a sip of the warm beverage.

"Yeah, Tina was just telling me that Blaine is taking Puck _shopping_. I mean, really... I'm _supposed_ to be the fashion expert around here." The hand on his hip made Rachel smile sadly. Kurt frowned.

"You seem upset."

Rachel shrugged. "He turned down my offer of dinner."

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Going on a date so soon? I know Blaine's single, but I didn't think you'd start cheating till at least our third year of marriage."

Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Master Quinn, permission to slap the other minion?"

Quinn took a sip of coffee, amused at Rachel. "By all means. He's yours anyways."

Kurt moved to hide behind Mercedes.

"Nuh-uh. No way boy. You married her. You deal with the consequences."

"What a good best friend you are," muttered Kurt.

"The best," grinned Mercedes as she pulled him from out behind her.

"Come on you," said Rachel, tugging on his belt loop. He yelped and waved at the others as Rachel headed towards the truck.

"It's hard to imagine the two of them ever having sex," said Artie.

"I don't know," said Mike after taking a sip of his warm tea. "Rachel definitely wears the pants in that relationship. She's quite forceful."

"Mike!" said Tina with a laugh, putting a hand on his chest. "Where did that come from?"

"Locker room... talk. Conversations held during Avengers movies notwithstanding."

Sam nearly spit out his coffee.

"Oh look, the lame gang is _still_ all gathered," said a voice coming out of the coffee shop. Don't you all have lives to get back to instead of hanging out in backwater Lima? Asian, other Asian, Aretha, Lips, Wheels, I need to talk to Quinn. Now." Sue Sylvester, even when holding a little girl in her arms could still be scary. They scattered, and headed off to their vehicles. Quinn rolled her eyes while Brittany and Santana looked on in amusement. Santana was sipping her coffee and lightly smirking. Brittany was playing in Robin's hair, which made the little girl giggle.

"So I hear you're good for something after all Q."

"I try," she said lightly, not wanting to give away the sarcasm on her tongue. "I can still hold court with the best of them."

"Good," said Sue, switching her daughter to her other hip. "Then my work here is done. You're on your own Q. Should you need backup..."

"Don't call you," said Quinn, rolling her eyes. Santana raised an eyebrow in questioning, but Sue had already left.

"Don't ask," said the former head cheerleader. "It's Sylvester."

"It's amazing the hold she still has on us," murmured Brittany. "Was it all that Black Ops training we did?"

"Brainwashing," commented Santana.

"Bat signal," muttered Quinn. This sent Brittany into giggles. She held out her palm to Quinn, who placed half of hers to Brittany. Santana joined them, placing her own hand to theirs.

"Unholy trinity," said Santana. "You want to do spring break with us again Quinn?"

"Oh yeah," smiled the Yale student. "Can't get any better than Daytona Beach with a little sun and surf."

"And cute boys," said Brittany. Santana wrapped her arms around her.

"I'll just be happy to see this in a bikini," added Santana. Quinn rolled her eyes and smiled.

* * *

The rental company was already taking away the chairs and archway and such from the glassed in gardens by ten o'clock. Finn and Sam were holding onto ladders while Kurt and Mike were taking down bottles and fabric. Mercedes, Rachel, and Tina were unwrapping lights from the trees.

"You know, what do you do with everything once your dad's wedding was over?" asked Tina to Kurt.

"Donate, pass it on, rent," said the countertenor from on top of ladder. "Speaking of which, how the hell did you find a rental company on such notice anyways Quinn? I had to put in a deposit and give at least three weeks' notice."

"We got lucky," she said firmly as she and Brittany were passing by with armloads of flowers. She stopped for a moment "But we had to buy a lot of things. By the way, I'm leaving it up to you as to what to do with all the flowers."

Kurt groaned. "Thanks." Quinn smirked and headed off.

"I think that's all the lights," said Mike as he came down from the ladder with a large coil around his arm. "What are we doing with these again?"

Santana took them from him. "We're separating them into the individual strands and tying them. Then putting them in a box. Kurt's Dad wants them."

"Good," said the Asian boy. "I'm glad I didn't run through all the Target and Home Depot stores in Lima and Westerville for nothing."

Kurt looked appalled. "What is he planning to decorate the house AND the shop for Christmas next year?"

Finn looked up. "I think he thinks he's going to put _us_ to work putting them up next year."

"Oh yeah, I can definitely see us up on the roof hanging Christmas lights."

"Well, maybe Finn," said Rachel walking up to the ladder. "_You'll_ be making the hot chocolate and snarking out comments about how Juliet and I should be using an asymmetric pattern when putting the lights around the windows."

"Whoa whoa whoa," said Santana, coming up to the threesome. "Hold up a minute. I've got to record this to memory. I do believe I'm rubbing off on you Rachel." She gave her a high five. Kurt glared at the both of them before snapping at Finn, who was laughing and not holding the ladder steady. Rachel giggled and blew him a kiss before going and rejoining Mercedes.

"Whipped," commented Santana. "What happened to the Kurt Hummel from high school with a scathing reply stuck in his back pocket for all occasions?"

"She has access to my hair products."

"Really, that's your excuse?"

"Well, she has a point," said Kurt. "Except I'd be drinking the hot chocolate and not leaving them any when they come back in freezing."

"That's better," smirked Santana as Kurt handed down to Finn a large section of fabric.

"Hey," said Quinn to Rachel, walking up to her. "I actually need to talk to you two about something." Quinn motioned for Kurt to come down off the ladder and they walked casually through the dome to where their friends had set up the staged area for pictures.

"Mr. Berry told me last night that the photographer was interested in using our setup here in his studio," began Quinn. "He said a lot of bride and grooms come in wanting a way to announce their engagement, and fairy tale is an in-demand theme. He loved what we did. Said it was off-beat."

"That's great Quinn," said Rachel. "Are you going to give it to him?"

"For a price," said the blonde with a small smile. "He upgraded your photos to the deluxe package for free and refunded Kurt's dad his deposit. He'll also be here at 11 to pick everything up. But I told him that I'd have to ask you two first if there is anything you wanted to keep."

"Rachel?" asked Kurt.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket. "It's beautiful, but I'm not exactly sure where would we put any of it. The apartment is full of Kurt's finds as it is." She put her phone up next to the cloche and book combination with the crowns and took a picture. "But I want to replicate this, and I think I know two tiaras that would work perfectly."

Quinn laughed and curtsied. "Our two queens." Kurt groaned.

"I will admit, that's cute," he said, rubbing Rachel's shoulder. "Good idea."

"We have enough books around," said Quinn. "We can find you a suitable one."

"A colorful one please," said Rachel. The blonde nodded.

"What about the decorations in the tea house?" asked Kurt.

"It's going too," said Quinn. "Except for a couple of exceptions."

"Can I make one?" asked Kurt. "I spied a lock and key set. It was old and black, with two keys and a chain."

"It's yours," said Quinn. "I'm guessing a brooch?"

"How did you—" The former blonde cheerleader reached out and tweaked at the ladybug on his shoulder. "Come on," Quinn said. "We need to get started on the tea house. We have to bring everything up here so the photographer can load it into his van."

* * *

Around 11:30, everything that had been rented was gone, and everything that needed to be packed up was packed and loaded into the back of Burt Hummel's truck.

"Thank God," said Mercedes, collapsing on the grass inside the dome of the botanical gardens. "We're done. I'm going to be so glad to go back to classes after this."

Kurt was checking his phone beside her. Isabelle had a bad habit of texting him with her ideas. He always kept a running note file of everything she thought was fabulous, just in case he needed to bring it up again.

"Breadstix?" suggested Tina. The whole entire group had gathered in various states of sitting up or laying down.

"I could eat about three bowlfuls of pasta," agreed Sam from the other side of Mercedes.

They all watched as the staff of the botanical gardens checked their work and gave Quinn an approving nod. They had been careful not to do damage to anything.

"It is pretty here," said Juliet. "So well kept."

"Surprising, considering this is Lima," agreed Tina.

"Well, people do work here," said Finn. "They do take pride in what they do."

No one could argue with Finn's sentiment.

"Anyone ready to go back to their normal lives?" asked Quinn.

"No," said the group in unison.

"Breadstix it is," said Mercedes. "Think if we told them we are a wedding party, we'd get a discount?"

"I'm so totally doing that," said Santana from Brittany's lap.

"Let's text the others and see if they want to join us," said Mercedes. "The more the merrier."

"On it," said Tina, pulling out her phone.

"Hey Quinn!" said Artie, rolling up with something in his lap. "Saw this sitting by the door of the tea house, thought you might want them."

"Thanks Artie. I meant to grab those earlier," said Quinn, taking the package off his hands. She put it in Rachel's lap.

"What is it?" asked Kurt.

"They were hanging in the tea room, but I don't think you must have gotten to see them with everything going on."

"Oh my god," said Rachel as she opened the brown paper wrapping. There was two small windows, the first one held a photo of Kurt and Rachel snuggling against each other, surrounded by other photos of the pair from high school.

"Where did you take that?"

"In the arcade," said Mercedes. "You two didn't even notice."

Rachel laughed out loud when she saw the second window. The photo in the middle of the collage was perfect. She held it away from Kurt so he couldn't see it as she held it to her chest.

"How—?"

"Brittany took it," said Quinn. Brittany was giggling as Rachel finally turned it for Kurt to see.

"Ah, so my death will live in infamy," sighed Kurt. "However, that is a really good photo Brittany." The blonde grinned and she and Mercedes gave each other a pleased look.

"It is," agreed Rachel. "Are these old window frames from someone's house? They're gorgeous."

"Don't you love the old detailing?" said Tina. "We gave it a protective coat and a little decoration."

"I'm amazed you got that photo," said Rachel. "We need to play more laser tag."

"Oh no," said Sam, pointing at Kurt. "I got shot in the back by that one and killed for him by Santana."

Kurt stuck his thumb out at Rachel beside him. "I think she got revenge for you over three-fold, remember?"

Rachel held a finger up to her lips like she was blowing smoke off a gun.

"Yeah, we shouldn't play with Kurt and Rachel," agreed Mike.

"Agreed," said Quinn. "Though they made good flags."

"Next time maybe they can't shoot each other."

"Now that would be interesting," said Artie. "I'll have to figure out some new rules." He start rubbing his chin in thought.

"That frightens me," said Tina. Everyone agreed.

"We'd better get going if we're going to get a large table," said Mercedes. "Have the others responded?"

"Yep!" said Tina. "They're on their way. Puck said that he and Blaine would drop by before he left."

"Excellent," said Quinn. "Maybe we can get them to sing for Blaine's birthday too."

"Kurt!" said Rachel with a small gasp. "We forgot our gifts."

"Oh goodness, you're right," said Kurt, helping Rachel to her feet. "We'll meet you at the restaurant."

"Gifts?" asked Tina. "What gifts?"

"Our little secret," beamed Rachel. "Finally."

"You're not allowed any more secrets," said Mercedes. "A year and a half Hummel. That goes for the both of you."

"You're not going to let us ever live that down are you?" said Kurt, putting his arm through Mercedes' own.

"I'm expecting loud and beautiful babies."

"Oh god," groaned Kurt loudly, bumping her shoulder. "You would remember that from our sophomore year."

"How can I ever forget?" smirked the black girl as she bumped him back.

"Karma. Karma hates me," said Kurt.

"Isn't that a big book on sex?" asked Brittany as she and Santana walked beside them to the door.

"That's the Kama Sutra sweetie."

"Oh right."

* * *

Finn and Juliet followed Kurt and Rachel back to the Hummel-Hudson household and they unloaded everything from the truck. Carole was not amused when they started bringing in not only the fabric she had requested Quinn to save for her, but also all the wedding flowers.

"What are you planning to do with all these?" said Carole. "Not that I mind, they're gorgeous…"

"We called around," said Finn. "A couple of the nursing homes said we could bring them to the residents."

"That's really thoughtful you two," nodded Carole. Juliet came in, holding the last of the fabric and handed it off to her future mother-in-law before heading up to the second floor for something.

"That's the last of everything," said Kurt, coming in with the last centerpiece. "We've got to go Finn if we're going to meet everyone." Juliet and Rachel came back down the stairs talking.

"So what are you going to do with all that fabric?" Finn asked his mom.

"My women's group is holding sewing classes for the community. They will make beautiful dress material for some little girls," said Carole. "We can always use spare fabric. Plus," she said, stacking it up neatly. "I have a project I'm doing for you two boys."

"With fabric?" said Finn, confused.

"Not for now," explained Carole. "But later," she said with a smile. "It's family tradition."

"Grandma?" asked Finn.

"Yes, she did it for me," said Carole. "Now go, or you're going to be late for your lunch with your friends."

* * *

Eating at Breadstix turned out to be a large affair as they took up a fair amount of the restaurant's space. Coach Beiste was there with her sister Denise and gave each of her former football players a hug. She even came and congratulated Kurt and Rachel on their wedding.

"I talked to Will this morning," said Beiste. "I was out of town with family, but was glad to hear you kids had fun." She smiled when she looked over the New Directions. "It amazes me that you all still meet up."

"We're a family Coach," said Artie. "And it's the holidays right?"

"You bet punkin," said Beiste. "Well, I'd better let you get back to your lunch, and I have a bowl of pasta that needs to eaten." She waved to the group and went back to her sister.

"So what's this about presents?" asked Tina. "I see a stack of boxes."

"Yes," said Kurt, standing up and looking at the group. "Rachel and I wanted to do something for everyone. We almost ended up in an argument because we couldn't agree at first. She didn't like my initial idea."

"Not that it surprises anyone," said Mercedes.

"We've gotten better," said Rachel with a small pout.

"Back on topic," said Kurt, rolling his eyes. "We wanted to do something fun, something that's us. All of us. We thought about iTunes gift cards because we all like music, but that didn't seem appropriate."

"But useful," added Artie. "Then we could all have bought Mercedes' single when it comes out."

"You'd better buy it anyway," said Mercedes, shaking a bread stick at him.

"Yes please do," said Kurt. "Or we will never hear the end of it."

"Ain't that the truth," said Santana. Mercedes sent her a glare. The Latina smirked.

"So we thought and thought about it, and while Mr. Schue would have been proud of us buying the Journey discography…"

This got a laugh from most of the table as Kurt smiled at his joke. Rachel wrinkled her nose up in amusement and started handing boxes down the table. As soon as they all got passed around, she stood beside Kurt, holding his hand.

"We hope you like them," said Rachel. "Kurt nixed my idea of doing autographed headshots from our portfolios till at least we've both been a lead in a Broadway show."

"Oh they're pretty!" said Mercedes with a squeal. She held up a scarf of black, red, and gold. They were striped horizontally. At the end, a large "ND" done in gold shone against the dark fabric. Just below that in much smaller letters was the phrase: _Don't Stop Believin'_.

"How perfect is it that Porcelain gives us scarves?" said Santana with a smirk, wrapping it around her neck.

"They are pretty," said Tina. "Thank you." She wrapped half her scarf around Mike.

"You're welcome," said Kurt. "And thank you guys. Although I know the meaning of monogram might be lost on some."

"It's still appropriate," said Quinn. "I mean look what happened right after we graduated. The New Directions lost Sectionals, and got disbanded. But Mr. Schue was able to bring them back together again."

"With a little help from Finn," said Brittany with a smile.

"We got lucky," he agreed. "But they all came back together."

"What came back together?" said Puck as he and Blaine walked in the door of the restaurant and came towards their friends.

"The New Directions," said Rachel. She handed Puck and Blaine both a box. "This is mine and Kurt's thank you gift to you all."

"A scarf," said Blaine, amused. "How appropriate." He bumped Kurt's shoulder with a smile.

"Man, that seems so long ago," said Puck.

"Six years," said Kurt. "Since me, Tina, Mercedes and Artie on guitar sang backup to the tortured lovers. And no comments from the peanut gallery."

"But Breadstix doesn't have peanuts," said Brittany with a frown.

"Ow!"

"I should smack you more for that," said Rachel with a glare at her husband.

"Geez, I'm going to have a bruise," said Kurt, rubbing his shoulder. Rachel sighed and shared a smile with Finn.

"Maybe if you weren't so fair skinned, you might be better off," said Mike.

"I cannot help my Irish and German ancestry," said Kurt crossing his arms.

"Speaking of Irish," said Artie. "Anyone talked to Rory lately?"

"I do," said Brittany. "He writes to me all the time on Lord Tubbington's wall. He's still all leprechauny. I think he said that he just went backpacking through Europe and had a lot of fun. He said his favorite place was a leaning tower of Pizza. I mean, how do you have a leaning tower of Pizza? All those slices would just fall off and pepperoni would be everywhere."

"Pisa," said Rachel. "It's a famous landmark."

"Oh," said Brittany. "I thought it was just Rory's accent coming through on Facebook. "I had problems understanding him sometimes."

"We'd better get to ordering and eating," said Quinn to the group. "Before the restaurant kicks us out for taking up their space."

* * *

After a long lunch of laughter and even longer goodbyes for some, they all headed out to their vehicles. Puck had already left to go pick up Lauren and Jake. Tina and Mike were catching a flight back to Chicago that evening and had to go home and pack. Unique and Sugar both had been too late for the lunch, but caught them all in the parking lot. Kurt and Rachel passed off their gift with a smile. Unique squealed and hugged Kurt.

"Although how am I going to wear this in Miami?"

"You can start a fashion trend," said the fashion writer with a smile. She shook the scarf at him.

"I might just do that honey."

Matt couldn't make the lunch, so Rachel and Kurt found out his parents new address from Mike and drove his present over. He wasn't home yet much to their disappointment, and left it with his brother and a note thanking him. They finally settled into the truck once more and headed back to the Kurt's home, navigating through Lima traffic.

"Can you believe we fly back tomorrow?" asked Rachel as she watched the passing cars.

"Seems unreal," admitted Kurt. "Like waking from a dream." They stopped as a red light and there was honking all around them. Rachel started to laugh.

"Why are they honking?" said Kurt as the car next to them waved. Rachel giggled and waved back.

"Think about it Kurt. What's attached to the truck right now?"

"I'm going to kill them both," muttered the brown haired male. "And Dad for letting them do it."

"It's fun," said Rachel kissing Kurt's cheek. The light changed and they moved on. "It's not everyday we get to get married."

"Hm, I suppose," he said with a sigh and a smile.

"At least Breadstix did give Santana her discount," commented Rachel.

"Could have done without the staff coming out and singing with a cheesecake though."

"Oh you hush. You love that cheesecake. Although I'm not quite sure they believed we had just gotten married AND it was Blaine's birthday."

"With all the food this holiday, I'm not going to fit into any of my clothes," whimpered Kurt.

"Speaking of clothes," said Rachel with a smirk. "Quinn's bringing your Christmas present back tonight."

"Ahhh!" said Kurt, his face brightening up as he remembered. "Our Isabelle approved couture. I had almost forgotten." He put on his blinker to turn left into the neighborhood where his family home was. Rachel laughed at the thought that Kurt had let that slip his mind.

"I can't believe you of all people forgot about clothes."

"Well... easy to do when there's a _wedding_ going on."

"Speaking of which," said Rachel. "While we're out delivering flowers, we need to get a large garment bag to put everything in."

"I will hold onto that bag with my life," said Kurt firmly. "The airline will have to drag it out of my cold dead hands."

Rachel patted his hand on the steering wheel. "It would just be easier to check it. I mean where would you put it? I know you, you wouldn't fold it in half for anything."

"Wrinkles are terrible to get out," he said with no hesitation. "I could just buy it a seat."

"Kurt, really," sighed Rachel. "It would be easier to just check it."

"I'm afraid it'd get lost," muttered Kurt.

"We could mail it again," the brunette offered.

"Do you really want to mail your wedding dress Rachel?"

"Well..."

"We'll check it," sighed Kurt. "But I am going to get that extra EV coverage."

"Kurt," laughed Rachel. "It's just a three hour flight. Hopefully the airlines wouldn't lose one garment bag in that short amount of time."

"You never know."

"My silly husband," said Rachel as Kurt parked the truck in front of his house. She got out and came over to the driver's side. She smiled and ruffled his hair.

"All mine," she said with a smile. She pushed her arms under his sweater and snuggled into his shoulder.

"Officially," said Kurt with deep chuckle. "You are adorable when you're being possessive. I used to think you were just being slightly jealous, but I've come to believe it's just one of your personality quirks."

Rachel wrinkled her nose. "I do get jealous sometimes," said the Jewish girl. "But most of the time I know I'm the one who gets to take you home."

"How Michael Bublé of you," commented Kurt with a smile. Rachel laughed.

"I always get to have your last dance," she smiled. "Come on, we have flowers to deliver."

* * *

It was almost four by the time they got all the flowers delivered between the two nursing homes they had called. Rachel looked in the back of the truck and saw the largest centerpiece was still there, along with another smaller one.

"I have one more stop to make," he said. "Also, I thought we'd take one to your Dads since we left one at the house too."

"That'll be great," agreed Rachel. "So where are we going?"

"Somewhere... special to me," said Kurt. "You'll see."

They got back on the road, and it was starting to cloud up.

"Please don't tell me it's going to rain," groaned Rachel. Kurt frowned.

"It's not too much further," he said. Rachel began to realize Kurt was headed for the city cemetery. He drove up through the main gate, and parked in a small lot. Rachel didn't even have to guess as she got out and took his hand. He picked up the flower arrangement and squeezed Rachel's hand. A lump caught in her throat as they walked down through the rows of graves. Through everything she had never even thought about if Kurt had wanted to honor his mother's memory.

"Just up this row," he said, pointing off to the right as Rachel took over leading. She came to a stop in front of simple light grey marble marker, decorated with only a small marble guardian angel and the name "Elizabeth Barrett Hummel" written on the top of the stone. Her birth date and death were written underneath. Kurt sat down the fresh flower arrangement next to a carefully arranged silk one. She wondered if Kurt had made it himself as she rubbed his shoulder. Neither of them spoke for a few minutes. Kurt grabbed for her hand.

"Thanks," he said quietly, leading them both away from the grave. "Every time I come here, I feel like I'm eight again."

"I wish I could have known you when you were small," said Rachel. "Maybe we could have been friends."

Kurt gave her a soft smile. "Maybe so. I kind of like the adult us better though."

"Eww," laughed Rachel. "You said the 'a' word."

"We got called Mister and Miss by high schoolers."

"Ugh, don't remind me," said Rachel. "That was painful."

"Technically we are adults," said Kurt with a shiver, looking up at the clouded sky. "We bought health insurance Rachel. We're probably going to have to file joint tax returns next year."

"We got health insurance just in case of emergencies," said Rachel. "That doesn't make us adults, it makes us... smart."

"Speaking of smart," said Kurt. "It'd be the smart thing if we start shopping before dinner. By the looks of things, I'd say it's going to be raining a while." Rachel nodded and they started to walk towards the main gate.

"Bye Mom," said Kurt softly, turning around and looking back. Rachel pulled gently on his fingertips and they headed to the parking lot.

* * *

The shopping trip was largely unsuccessful as Kurt couldn't find a large enough garment bag that suited his taste. They did manage to find an extra suitcase for the items they had accumulated from their wedding. They were still packing and getting dressed when Carole knocked on Kurt's door. Rachel shut the door to Kurt's closet quickly as she was still mostly topless.

"We're going to go ahead and go on to the Berry's," said Carole. "You still have the keys to the truck?" Kurt nodded and Carole looked around.

"Where is Rachel?"

"In the closet," said a muffled voice. "I wasn't dressed."

Carole shook her head with a small smile and waved goodbye. Rachel came out sheepishly holding her bra. She turned around and had Kurt fasten it for her.

"I know we're married, but I didn't want her to see me like that."

"Since there are three couples in this house over Christmas vacation, I think Carole is used to the idea that somewhere in this house there is someone half naked."

"You are terrible," groaned Rachel. She pulled on a royal blue sweater from the bed and put her hair up in a twist in the mirror. Kurt handed her the pair of ankle boots sitting beside it. She sat down and put them on over her black tights. Kurt leaned over and kissed the bare skin of her neck before resting his head on her shoulder.

"By this time tomorrow, we'll be back in our apartment," she smiled as they both looked in the mirror. He was wearing a fitted brown wool sweater over a red dress shirt and matching bow tie. Rachel played with the ladybug brooch he had taken off his other sweater and attached it to this one.

"I'm glad I bought you that," smiled the brunette.

Kurt smiled. "It's one of my favorites." He extended his hand to her. "Come on, Brittany's already texted me. She's on her way to dinner. So's Quinn. And we still have to get our stuff in the truck that didn't go into the car with Dad and Carole."

"I'm glad Daddy is taking us to the airport tomorrow," said Rachel with a sigh. "I think I'm going to be too exhausted to drive."

"Hey," said Kurt. "Do you want to someday get new wedding rings?"

"Why?" asked Rachel. "Do you not like these Kurt?"

"No, it's not that," he shook his head. "I was just curious. We did rush with everything, so I wondered."

Rachel shook her head. I like them. They're vintage. They have memories and history attached to them. They have a story to tell."

Kurt nodded. "I like them too. We picked them out together."

Rachel nodded and began piling things into her suitcase as Kurt grabbed the last of their stuff and headed for the stairs.

"Don't forget your flowers!" he yelled from the stairs. Rachel smiled as she picked up the vase with her bouquet and turned off the light.

* * *

"Jesus, that rain is cold," said Kurt as he put down the umbrella in the hallway after setting down the arrangement. The sky had opened up on their way to Rachel's house and it was now raining steadily. Rachel came in, balancing another umbrella and her wedding bouquet. She sat it down on the table in the hallway next to the other flowers.

"You finally made it," said Mercedes, coming into the hallway. "Thought we were going to have to send out a search party."

"It's just a little rain," said Rachel, shaking out her curls. "Is everyone here yet?"

"Missing Santana," said Brittany, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "She was having a conversation with her mom when I called her."

"At least we're not the last ones," said Kurt as he took the arrangement into the dining room. He laughed and stuck his head back out the door. "Your Dads already have one," he smirked at Rachel.

"Oh well," said Rachel with a smile. "Guess they got one last night."

"We took it with us when your Dad and I thought we were going to take all this food to one of the shelters downtown," said Hiram walking into the hallway from the kitchen. "But one was closed and the other wouldn't take already prepared food."

"Closed?" frowned Rachel. "When it was snowing?"

"So it would seem."

"Strange," said Mercedes with a frown. Hiram kissed the top of Rachel's head. "So instead we get to have a large family and friends dinner with your new family."

"Didn't we just do this last night?" laughed Mercedes.

"I think we did," said Rachel. "But at least this time I'm in more comfortable shoes." They both laughed and Brittany twirled Rachel around in a circle.

"And the dishes are a little different," said Hiram. "We did a little remixing with the courses."

"It'll be delicious Daddy," said Rachel. "I'm sure we'll be happy with whatever you did."

"Good," said Hiram. "Because we have a lot of food to get rid of. Both the upstairs and downstairs fridge are full."

"Sam and Finn definitely will help you take care of that," said Kurt, coming up beside Rachel with an extra glass of champagne. She took it from him with a smile as she saw Quinn.

"Lush," chided the blonde with a smirk. "I thought I heard voices. I took your clothes upstairs to your bedroom Rachel. Sorry I held them hostage."

Kurt perked up. "They're here? Finally!" Rachel grabbed him by the back of his sweater.

"After dinner honey, then you can see the pretties."

"Aww... he really is like a dog with a shiny new chew toy," said Brittany.

"My Isabelle approved Christmas present," said Kurt. "Not a chew toy."

"Chew toy," said Rachel, kissing his cheek. "Come on, let's go sit down with the others."

"So what did Kurt get you for Christmas?" asked Mercedes. "I don't think you ever said babe."

Rachel looked at Kurt, who seemed to be ignoring the conversation and looking at the ceiling.

"Apparently I have to wait till March for mine."

"Why March?"

Rachel poked his shoulder. "Ask him."

"Wait, you haven't even given her a hint?" said Sam. "Don't you think that's a little mean?"

"Maybe," said Kurt, thrumming his fingers across his arm. "But I really want it to be a surprise, and I don't want her to be stressed."

Rachel looked at him strangely. "Stressed? Why would I be stressed over my Christmas present?"

Kurt mentally kicked himself. "Because you could... possibly be. I know you will be. So that is why I am waiting. And you are waiting."

"Okay, now I'm dying of curiosity," said Mercedes. Quinn nodded.

"I think you're going to have to tell her Kurt," said Brittany. "They all want to know now too."

Kurt sighed. He handed Brittany his empty glass. "Would you go get me more please? I'm going to need it in a few minutes to deal with the bruises." Brittany took the glass and he went back out into the hallway. By that time, the adults had gathered in the living room with the young adults. Kurt came back in with a large envelope, looking nervous.

"Okay, I guess I couldn't hold onto this forever," sighed Kurt. "I do have you a present Rachel... and it's this." He held up the envelope.

"It's an envelope," said Sam. "Pretty cheap present."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "There's more than just the envelope. It's a pretty big thing, actually."

"Go on," said Rachel, sipping on her champagne.

"You know how Tisch holds workshops with directors and casting agents?"

"Of course, but they're like NYADA's. Hard to get into even when you're a senior."

"Well, Tisch is holding one in March," said Kurt. "With Scott Hillsby. You know him. He's one of biggest—"

"He just did _Peter and the Star Catcher_," broke in Rachel. "Of course I do. It's rumored that he wants to do a modern day remake of _Hair_."

"And he's doing private interviews that day," said Kurt. Rachel looked up in surprise. "Kurt don't tell me you—"

"No not me," said Kurt. "But... I put my name into the lottery a few times for one of the five packages they offer up to the rest of the student body, and won." He handed the envelope to Rachel. "Your interview is on March 12 at 3:30. I hear on the blogs that he's looking for his next stars for the remake."

"Kurt!" said Rachel, in shock. "I can't take this!"

"Yes, and you will," said Kurt firmly. "I've already put your name down for the interview. You'd be a great Sheila."

"But I'm not a Tisch student. I—"

"I already checked with administration and the workshop heads, it doesn't matter. You're going."

Rachel tackled Kurt. "I can't believe you. You idiot!" She buried her head in his shoulder as she gave him a punch. He winced.

"Ow! Bruises Rachel!"

"Sweetie, let Kurt go," said Leroy, walking into the room with Santana.

"You idiot! I can't believe you'd do that," said Rachel, wiping her eyes.

"Well, I have to get you to Broadway somehow," he said with a soft smile.

"You are going with me," said Rachel firmly. "I'm pushing you in front of me at that interview Kurt Hummel."

"It's a private interview Rachel, I don't think—"

"I don't care," she said. "You're going too. We can duet together. I'll figure out something. Oh my god, what am I even going to wear? What are we even going to sing?"

"Shouldn't that be Kurt's words?" said Mercedes, amused.

Kurt sighed and took the champagne from Brittany. "See, this is why I didn't want to tell you till March."

"And I would have hurt you," exclaimed Rachel. "12 days!"

"Plenty of time," he added, taking a sip of his drink.

Rachel hit him again for good measure.

"Ow, geez."

"So he finally broke down and told her huh?" said Santana as she sat down beside Brittany. The blonde nodded.

"They both knew?" glared Rachel.

"Well, I had to tell someone when I found out."

"I think he was just calling to gloat," said Santana.

"Hey, I put in a bid for you too," said Kurt. "And I still do have that extra ticket to the workshop he's doing."

"I might take you up on it," said Santana, taking a sip from Brittany's glass.

"Well, let's eat," said Hiram. "And congratulations on your interview sweetie."

"My husband is an idiot, but I love him." She kissed his cheek and took Quinn by the arm and marched into the dining room.

Kurt sighed. Mercedes chuckled and patted his shoulder, going into the dining room with Sam. Brittany and Santana followed, along with Finn and Juliet. The redhead grabbed Kurt's hand and dragged him into the dining room as well.

* * *

Quinn came up to Kurt after dinner.

"That was a very smart and stupid thing you did."

"It was a one in a few hundred chance," said Kurt. "I was surprised when I won."

"You won on your merit Kurt. And you gave it to her."

He drained the rest of his glass of wine with a sigh. "I planned to do that when I put in my bid." He paused. "Do you think I shouldn't have?"

"You need to do what will make the both of you happiest."

"So double interview?"

Quinn laughed and played with the rim of her glass. "Tell Rachel and Mr. and Mr. Berry I said thanks for dinner, but I think I'm going to skip dessert and head home. All this cute couple-y stuff is too much."

Kurt frowned. "I'm sorry Quinn."

"Don't be," said the blonde. "Brittany and Santana are my best friends, and I love spending time with you and Mercedes. Plus, yours and Rachel's parents remind me that there are still functional families out there."

"Still... I know how that feels."

Quinn waved him off. "I'll see you in New York." He walked her to the door, his eyes questioning. She gave him a nod, and he sighed. He reached forward and gave her a hug.

"Take care of yourself first Quinn."

"You know me, just a home wrecker."

"You're better than that, and you know it."

She looked over his shoulder. "Am I really?" She headed towards her car.

Rachel came over to Kurt and they both watched as Quinn pulled away in the rain.

"Is something the matter with Quinn?"

"Yes and no," said Kurt, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "But I'm not poking that hornet's nest yet."

"Come on," said Rachel with a smile. "Daddy's taking out the leftover wedding cake."

"Talking to me again, are you?"

"Come on! Cake!"

"How many glasses have you had?"

"Enough?" said Rachel with a smirk. "I might just have more before the night's out."

"You are not getting onto that plane hungover, I'm warning you."

* * *

Later that evening after everyone had left and Hiram and Leroy had gone to bed, Kurt and Rachel decided they were not the least bit tired and broke into the rest of the wedding cake and started helping themselves to the second to last layer in the basement.

"I still can't believe you," said Rachel, holding up her fork. "How did you not tell me about that?"

"I wanted it to be surprise," said Kurt. "It was hard keeping such a big secret from you."

"You won an interview with Scott Hillsby, oh my god," said Rachel. She took another bite of the chocolate with a sigh. "I still can't believe it."

"Well, it was a stroke of luck," said Kurt. "I think you'll do amazing Rachel."

"You're an idiot, but I love you," she said from her position on the couch. She got up and sat down beside Kurt on the floor. She fed him a bite of the chocolate and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Want to break into the liquor cabinet again?"

"I think I just want to go upstairs," yawned Kurt. "Brush all this sugar off my teeth before decay sets in."

"And the alcohol," said Rachel. "Glad my Dads keep a stocked bar now?"

"Mmhmm," said Kurt. "I needed that last drink I think."

"Come on," said Rachel. "We have to clean up."

Kurt wrinkled his nose, debating on whether he wanted to get up. "Do we have to? I am quite comfortable on the floor."

"Bed's better," said Rachel.

"It is," said Kurt sleepily. "You'll be there."

Rachel smiled and put the cake back in the fridge while Kurt put their forks and glasses into the sink.

* * *

The next morning, Kurt awoke to the sound of his cell phone. He picked it up quickly off the bedside table once he recognized Isabelle's ringtone.

"Kurt!" said Isabelle with a bit of a squeal. "Why didn't you tell anyone you were going home to have a wedding? I could have given you another week off for a honeymoon! And even if it was in Ohio, I still would have been there for you."

Kurt through his sleepy haze, stared at the phone before looking at the clock. It was after ten, and Rachel was out of bed as he reached for her.

"I didn't know," he said, a little bleary eyed. "It was not in my plans. It was a bit of whirlwind thing."

"It looked gorgeous. The pictures don't do it justice, I imagine. You're going to have to bring them in to work one day and let us see them."

"... Pictures?"

"On your Facebook honey. The whole office is talking about them."

The countertenor put Isabelle on speaker phone and pulled up his Facebook. He laughed softly when he saw that the photographer had posted a few images to his own photography studio page and had tagged him and Rachel in the photos.

"... And that suit! Wherever did you find vintage Gucci in Lima of all places?"

"Would you believe it was found for me? Speaking of suits, thank you for helping Rachel out with her Christmas shopping."

"That dear girl. I think she was surprised when I actually said yes. Like I could refuse an online shopping trip for one of my favorite employees."

Kurt laughed at that. "Well, it is a gorgeous grey suit." He fingered it through the open garment bag hanging on Rachel's closet door. "And don't think I didn't hear about Rachel's dress."

"Think of it as a wedding present. I can't have my employee's other half not looking fabulous at the _Vogue_ party on New Years. Well, I had better go. Paul just brought me the preview for Britney's new perfume. This is like what, her fifth one? I'll see you in a couple of days honey."

He hung up the phone, feeling amused. Rachel came back into the room, smiling at seeing him awake.

"Daddy seems to think he might have an extra garment bag big enough for everything," she said, sitting on the bed beside him. Kurt nodded and held up his phone.

"I just off the phone with Isabelle," he said. "The photographer posted some of the images from the wedding on Facebook and tagged us. Now my office is talking about it." He laughed. "Should I call Quinn and tell her that her work is the talk of at least part of New York?"

"Let her find out for herself," said Rachel, amused. "We still have to get to the airport."

Kurt groaned and pulled the covers back over his head.

"By the way, I found your pajama top hanging on the shower curtain. I'm curious as to how it got in there."

Kurt looked down at his chest, not even realizing he was missing it.

"I think I need more sleep because I'm not even sure I have an answer at the moment. I think it might have involved cake and/or toothpaste."

"Uh-huh," said Rachel with a smile. She crawled under the covers as well, settling down next to him.

"I kind of like you bare chested." Rachel ran her hands over the smooth, toned skin.

Kurt sleepily raised an eyebrow. "And I like clothes. Which is why I normally wear them. But feel free to run around naked if you want."

"Haha," said Rachel. "You really are out of it, aren't you?"

"I could sleep for like five more hours. What time do we have to be at the airport again?"

"Our flight leaves at 2:30."

"Damn."

"Go back to sleep for another hour," said Rachel. "Then you must absolutely get in that shower."

"Yes honey," mumbled Kurt sleepily. Rachel rolled her eyes and kissed his forehead. She got back off the bed and went downstairs.

* * *

Three hours later, they were standing at the airport waiting for their flight. Rachel was texting someone from NYADA. Kurt fingered the scarf around her neck. It was the same as the others, but theirs had a small difference. The ND had a gold star in the background, along with their names.

"I hope Dad doesn't kill me for putting all the scarves on the emergency credit card," said Kurt with a sigh.

"You mean that scarf Finn was showing to me yesterday afternoon?" said Burt in amusement, coming up behind them. Kurt spun around quickly and put his arms around him.

"Dad! I didn't think you were coming. I thought you'd be at work."

"Well, I do own the tire shop, I can take off when I want."

"I know that Dad," said Kurt. He held his father close. "I'll pay you back I promise."

"Kurt, I know you will." He laughed and looked at Rachel. "Weren't we just doing this about a week ago?"

"I think so Mr. Hummel," said Rachel, putting away her phone and giving Burt a hug too. "Except I think he was hugging me because he was afraid my Dads were going to kill him."

"Seems so long ago now," commented Kurt.

"More than a few secrets being discovered, a wedding, and an epic laser tag game ago," said Rachel with a smirk.

Hiram walked up to Kurt and Rachel. "The airline approved your insurance Kurt. You're ready to go." He handed Kurt a receipt and some paperwork.

"Thanks," said Kurt, sticking it in his bag.

"Insurance?" said Burt, furrowing his brow.

"For the clothes," said Kurt. "There's no way I was not insuring that."

"Three hour flight Kurt," said Rachel, shaking her head at her husband.

"So if you had one of Barbra's dresses she wore to an awards show, you wouldn't get insurance?"

"I'd be driving that puppy personally back to New York," said Rachel with a scoff.

"See?" smirked Kurt.

"Sorry sweetie, I don't think I can get you one of Barbra's dresses," said Hiram, kissing the top of her head. "But I can get you on a flight. Which is what you need to be doing."

Rachel looked at the time with a sigh. "I know." She kissed Hiram Berry's cheek. "We'll come soon to visit as soon as we can Daddy. Tell Dad I love him and I'll miss him too."

"I will," he promised as she hugged him. She hugged Burt too before picking up her carry-on and her wedding flowers. Kurt hugged Burt.

"We'll try to come home before too long," said Kurt into Burt's shoulder.

"Whenever you want to. You know all you have to do is ask. Both of you."

"Bye Dad," said Kurt, picking his bag.

"Oh, before I forget," said Hiram, handing Kurt a box. "I know it's tradition for you to eat your top layer of your wedding cake on your first anniversary, but I don't think between the two of you it'll last that long considering you decimated the second layer last night."

"Oops," said Rachel with a laugh.

"Did we really eat the whole entire layer?" asked Kurt. Rachel nodded.

"We were celebrating. Scott, Kurt."

"No wonder I felt 20 pounds heavier this morning."

"Go on you two," said Burt with a laugh. "Before you miss your flight. Call us when you land safely." They waved goodbye to their Dads and headed away.

* * *

Kurt and Rachel settled into their seats on the plane after putting their things away. She started to admire her bouquet with a sigh.

"What did you do with your boutonniere after the wedding?" asked Rachel. Kurt pointed to his bag.

"It's being pressed in the book I brought to read. You know the one by Carson Phillips?" Kurt snorted. "I thought I might be able to read over vacation. I was so delusional."

"Well, you weren't exactly expecting to have a wedding either."

"True," said Kurt. "That was at least a few years away."

"Would you change a thing?"

Kurt thought about this as he crossed his legs in the seat. "I don't think so. Well, I would have shot you first."

Rachel laughed. "You know, we're the old married couple among our friends now."

"I doubt we'll be alone for long."

"I'm glad I got you first," said Rachel with a smile. "Imagine if Puck had snatched you up."

"Okay, I definitely need a drink for that thought," said Kurt, reaching for the stewardess button.

"Kurt, we're not even in the air yet," said Rachel with a laugh as she grabbed for his hand. She pushed her hair behind her ears and played with his fingers. "You don't think Puck would make a cute boyfriend?"

"I suppose he'd be novel for a couple of weeks," said Kurt. "But long term, no."

"And I am?"

"You I don't have to worry about running off and I don't know, joining the circus for extra cash."

Rachel covered her mouth to keep from giggling as Kurt felt his phone vibrate. He pulled it out to check the message when a stewardess stopped on their row. "I'm afraid you'll have to turn that off for now sir. ... Oh, what beautiful flowers."

"Thank you," said Rachel with a smile.

"Let me guess, you just got married?"

"Are we that apparent?" asked Kurt.

"The flowers and bakery box are a dead giveaway," said the flight attendant with a slight smirk. "Headed on your honeymoon?"

"Going home," said Rachel. "Unfortunately we are penniless theatre students."

"Well, at least you got to have a wedding," smiled the flight attendant. "Was it beautiful?"

"Very much so," said Rachel. "Our friends threw us a wedding."

"Wow, that sounds like fun."

"Nerve wracking," muttered Kurt. The flight attendant laughed.

"Well, you seemed to have survived, and you're still holding hands, so it must have not been that bad."

"It wasn't," said Rachel. "It was really nice."

"If you'd like," began the stewardess. "We have a little room in the cold storage. We could put your flowers and cake back there. Get it out of your way for a little while."

"That would be wonderful, thank you," said Kurt. Rachel nodded and handed them to the stewardess.

"And congratulations," the stewardess said. "I hope you two have a great marriage. My name is Christine if you need anything."

"Thank you," said Rachel. She watched as Kurt pulled out his MP3 player.

"What?" he said. "I do have an audition on the 30th."

"I didn't say a word," smirked Rachel. "But you'd better be thinking of the perfect song for March."

"Rachel."

"Kurt."

"_Rachel._"

"_Kurt._"

"Fine, give up your Christmas present," sighed Kurt.

"I'm not giving it up," said Rachel. "I'm just... sharing."

"Uh-huh," said Kurt, sticking his ear buds in. "I'll believe that when I actually get you through that door in front of me."

"Kurt!"

"Rachel Barbra Ber—"

Rachel snorted. "You do it too."

"Well, you've always been a Berry for as long as I've known you," he whined. Rachel kissed his cheek.

"I am happy to be Mrs. Rachel Berry Hummel."

"What? No Hummelberry?"

"Haha," said the brunette. She laid her head on his shoulder.

The seat belt sign came on, and they both buckled in. Kurt started his player and found the song he was going to sing for his audition. He pulled out a notebook out of his bag, going over the words he had written down for probably what was the 1000th time. He wanted to be perfect. This was his dream. He looked over at his wife with a smile as she was daydreaming out the window. She grabbed his hand when they climbed into the air and held it until they leveled off. Kurt listened to a couple of songs for fun and went to ask Rachel her opinion on something, pulling out his earbuds. With a smile, he realized she had fallen asleep against the window. He gently took his hand from hers and grabbed a pillow out of the overhead compartment and placed it gently under her sleeping head. He didn't even ask her this morning how long she had been awake. She must have been up a while talking to her Dad before work. She was still sleeping peacefully when the stewardess came around with drinks. He took a couple of bottles of water and a cup of tea. He sipped on the warm beverage and pulled out his book with a sigh. At least he could get some reading done.

* * *

Rachel felt something pressed against her lips as she awoke a little too sleepily to her taste. She realized Kurt was kissing her and she smiled before kissing back.

"Afternoon sleepyhead. You've got to get up. You have pillow hair."

She yawned. "Have we finished leveling off? I'm kind of thirsty."

"Honey we've landed. We're at JFK."

Rachel's eyes popped open in confusion. "I slept the whole flight?"

Kurt chuckled. "Yes. Come on, up." He kissed her lips once more and helped her stand. She stretched with a small yawn before feeling of her hair. She tried to straighten it in a hand mirror from her purse as Kurt got their things together.

"Don't forget these," said Christine, the flight attendant they had spoken to earlier. She handed Rachel her flowers and the cake.

"The other girls were ooh-ing and ahh-ing over your flowers and cake. They're jealous. They said to tell you congratulations on your marriage."

"Tell them we said thank you," smiled Rachel. Kurt took Rachel's hand and they headed off the plane after sorting their possessions between them. They got to baggage claim and Kurt recognized the flight attendant who had been handing out snacks and beverages with a group of others in the same uniform as hers.

"You mean it was them? Damn, he's hot."

"Told ya."

Rachel snorted.

"Why thank you ladies, it helps to make a gay man feel appreciated by the fairer sex." The female flight attendants squealed in surprise as a group.

"Kurt!" laughed Rachel. "That was—"

"Funny?" he chuckled.

"Now they're going to think I'm your beard."

"Nah, you'd look terrible with one," said Kurt. "All scruffy and bumpy."

"Trying to make me into your boyfriend, I see how it is. Unfortunately Kurt Hummel, I am quite female."

"I am quite well aware of this fact," he said with a smirk. "I don't know. Sometimes I do think it's funny to play with sexuality when there's no harm done. I mean... I never was comfortable with it in high school since I had to fight for it."

"Well, easy to do I suppose there's no one to understand."

Kurt made a face. Rachel kissed his cheek. Kurt approached the desk next to baggage claim and showed his paperwork. The attendant handed over their checked bags with a smile and a nod.

"Now look. See? Our bags made it fine." She reached for the suitcases and Kurt grabbed for the garment bag and cuddled it to his chest with a whimper.

"You are adorable." She handed him his suitcase and he moved the garment bag to his shoulder.

"Something _could_ have happened you know."

"Uh-huh. I can smell the bagels from here," moaned Rachel as she took in a deep breath.

"Want to go get dinner after we drop off our things at the apartment?" said Kurt.

"Sounds perfect," said Rachel. She put her flowers under her arm and took Kurt's hand into her own as they walked through the airport and into New York City.


End file.
